Things are not what they seem
by withfireandblood
Summary: a Klaroline story that takes place where 3x22 left off. *NEW Chapters!* What happens when happily ever after fades? The story of how they fell in love, how she ran away, and how he will do anything to get her back.
1. Chapter 1

Caroline clung to Bonnie, sobbing. It had been two days since that night she said goodbye to Tyler. Two days since she found out Elena had died with vampire blood in her system. Two days since Klaus was staked and Alaric died. Two days since she was supposed to leave town. Bonnie was the only one she could trust, so she was staying with her until she could find a way to pull herself together enough to leave.

"It's not fair. I know I should be happy for her, but it's not fair" Caroline cried.

"I know, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" Bonnie replied. She blocked out all thoughts about how she played a part in Tyler's demise. No. Tyler would be dead either way. If she hadn't switched the spirits in their bodies, Klaus would really be dead, and he would have been followed by many other people, people she actually cared about. Tyler would still be dead, but Abby would be too. and Caroline. And the Stefan and Damon. She did the right thing. She wouldn't allow herself to feel bad about this.

"Elena gets everything. She gets to spend eternity with which ever Salvatore brother she chooses, and she doesn't have to blame herself or them for her being a vampire. She can have her choice of two fairy tale endings. Why can't I have mine?"

Bonnie was reminded of an conversation they had about two years ago. That night, they stopped at the grill for some sober-up food on their way home from the party. Caroline had instantly crushed on Stefan and was hurt that he had picked Elena over her. Caroline would never admit it, but the same thing happened the year before when she started casually flirting with Matt, only to find out that he was working up the courage to ask Elena out, and had only gotten friendly with Caroline to figure out if he had a chance.

Later on, when Caroline and Matt started dating, she was constantly reminded of how he only saw her as an option when it was clear that Elena would never be his again. Tyler had hooked up with half the girls in school, but at least he never had a thing for Elena.

"We were going to run away together. Now I have to run away by myself" Caroline whispered, and dissolved back into a fit of tears.

Bonnie hugged her tighter. Caroline was there for her when she lost her Gram, and she helped Abby adjust to being a vampire and helped Bonnie feel ok with having a vampire for a mother. Now it was her turn to be a good friend. She thought about her meeting, planned for later that night. What would a good friend do?

"Let me get you some tea" Bonnie said.

She turned the kettle on and climbed onto the kitchen counter to reach some boxes on the very top shelf. These little metal tins were marked not by names, but by pictures that helped her remember what each herb or remedy was for. She fond the one with the picture of a bed and sprinkled a pinch of it into Caroline's tea.

Once Caroline had dozed off, Bonnie draped a blanket over her and left a note

Went out for some Groceries and didn't want to wake you. Text me with what

ice cream you want if you wake up

before I get back.

As Bonnie drove to the location, she reminded herself she would need to actually buy a few groceries on the way back.

The abandoned farm house was about a 40 minute drive from Mystic Falls. There was no electricity or running water, but the structure itself was stable. There was a functional well in the backyard and the water seemed safe to drink. She had found this place a few months ago. She knew that being a witch meant that Vampires would always be coming for her, demanding she do things for them and threatening her life and the lives of those she loved. She needed a place to hide.

She thought about Jeremy and Jamie and Abby. She wanted this place to be there for them when they needed to escape. She had saved up for a little generator, and had brought a box of candles, some matches and flashlights, an air mattress and blankets, basic toiletries and first aid, and some nonperishable food up to the house last month. She did an exhausting spell that couldn't quite keep uninvited people out, but at least gave them a very strong feeling about not wanting to step foot on the property. She was hoping to get her mother to help her compel the town to sign the deed of the property over to her. If Bonnie could get her name on the deed, she could keep vampires out completely. But things had gotten so crazy there hadn't been time for that. At least for now, the hybrid she learned to tolerate was occupying the house, and he would probably rip apart anyone who dared come near it.

"Hello" Bonnie called out.

A stair creaked

"I brought you some blood" She said as she waved the cooler she was carrying.

Tyler's face was suddenly in front of her. But that smile was not his. She had been the one to swap the souls inside their bodies, but it still made her blood run cold to watch Klaus walk around in Tyler's body.

"Bonnie, you're too kind, Please come sit down in the kitchen" Klaus said.

"Sit where?" Bonnie asked. There was no furniture in the house when she found it, and the idea of perching on the cabinets with Klaus struck her as odd.

Klaus just smiled. When Bonnie walked into the kitchen she saw a table and four chairs. They were unpolished and rustic looking, but carefully crafted. The room smelled like sawdust and the forest and nature. It appealed to her witchy side; ever since she discovered her powers, things that reminded her of nature gave her great comfort. She reached out to touch the table.

"You... where did this come from?" She asked.

"I made it" he said, and smiled a little. "I've been here for two days with nothing but my thought to keep me company, so I gave myself something to do. There were some tools and nails and strips of lumber in the shed out back"

She looked at the chair in front of her, and started to sit but she stopped herself. A painful memory of 9th grade wood shop with Tyler, and the birdhouse he made that kept falling apart. This isn't Tyler, she reminded herself. But still, looking into those eyes, she saw her classmate, the guys she always thought was an asshole but learned to like when he made her friend so happy. She felt another wave of the guilt. Tyler got staked and killed by Alaric because of her. She did it for the right reasons and she saved lives, but she still had a hand in taking his.

"It's safe, love, you can sit down." Not-Tyler said. "You forget that I come from a time where we made things instead of buying them. For centuries I lived in homes I built, filled with furniture I also built."

Bonnie sank into the chair, and was relieved when it didn't fall apart under her, but she still felt a need to get a little dig in.

"You must have built a lot of houses, what with constantly being on the run from Michael, and moving before people noticed you didn't age." Klaus nodded in agreement. "But I have a hard time believing you built any. you probably just compelled people to do the heavy lifting for you."

His eyes narrowed "There's a lot you don't know, Bonnie Bennett." spitting out her name like he hated the sound of it. "You presume to know who I am because you saw some of what I am capable of. You know nothing of where I've been-"

"So show me." she cut him off. "I came here to figure out what the next step in the plan is, but i need to know a few things about you, and I need to know you aren't lying"

"Fine" Klaus said.

"Ok, when i dropped you off here the other day, I offered to contact one of your siblings for you, but you told me not to tell any of them about you. Why?"

"I love my family, but I don't trust what they will do with my body if they know it still exsists and that I'm out here, waiting for a chance to get back in it."

"The others told me Elijah and Rebecca were devistated. They're your family... they love you."

"well that's nice to hear, as I love them as well. But that didn't stop me from daggering them and keeping them in boxes. I have no doubt they would try to teach me a lesson by holding my body hostage or even destroying it. So no, there is no way they can find out about me until I'm back in my own body. I don't intend to spend eternity looking like this" he said.

"That's going to take some time. Damon hid your coffin in the storage unit before he brought Alaric's body back to Mystic Falls. He's helping Jeremy make arraingments for his burial."

"That vile hunter put a stake in my body! He would have killed all vampires, how could they care-"

Bonnie cut him off again "that was not who Alaric was and you know that. That monster was your mother's doing. The real Alaric protected us, he loved Elena and Jeremy like they were his own children, he stopped hunting vampires and worked side by side with them in order to protect the people he loved." She glared at him, daring him to speak.

"Fine. but my body..."

"I moved it. I can't compel people and I don't have vampire strength, so the best I could do on my own was to put it in a different locker and spell the door."

"That's not safe enough. I want it here. with me."

"You're welcome, asshole. I didn't need to do that for you or give you a place to hide. You're only still here because of me. Now, you're not going to like this next part."

Klaus scowled.

"I opened up the coffin. Your body didn't burn completly, but your chest is disgusting. It's all charred and melted."

"So put me back in it, and I'll grab a drink and heal. Good as new."

"Not quite. The dagger hit your heart, and did some serious damage. If you weren't all beef-jerky-fied it probably would have been completly destroyed, but because of your err- situation, it stayed preserved a little. But not a lot."

"You think putting me back in that body would kill me?"

"Maybe. I don't know. I just know that a shriveled, charred segment of a heart isn't the same as a heart, and vampires need those to survive. I don't know if you could heal fast enough." Bonnie was surprised by the compassion in her own voice.

"So what exactly are you suggesting? that i stay in this wretched body forever?" Klaus motioned at himself, disgusted by the Tyler of it all.

"No. We need to get your body somewhere safe. And I'm going to need vampire help to do that. After that, I need to find a way to heal your body enough to put you back in it. But I seriously doubt I'll be able to do it alone."

"I have witches everywhere and my hybrids will help"

"Your hybrids scattered the second you and Tyler swapped bodies. It broke the sire bond and you had better hope they stay scattered. If anyone remembers what they looked like and sees one alive, your cover will be blown."

He snarled at her.

"I'll accept help from your witches when it comes to that. But I need a vampire to get your body to you."

"I can't trust any of your vampires. If one of the Salvatores knows, Elena will know, and she'll go running to Elijah and ruin everything."

"Abby will help me. She'll keep the secret. Not for you, but for me. And because if you die, she knows she will too."

"Fine."

"Ok, I guess that's all we need to discuss for now. I'll bring more blood bags in a few days, By then I should have your body in a safer spot. Once Damon checks the storage container and sees you're not in there, he's going to rip the whole place apart."

"Rebecca will come looking first. And she'll do more damage than Damon."

"Are you sure you don't want to tell her?"

"I can't. Not until I'm in my own body. I can't risk it."

"Ok." Said Bonnie, and she got up to leave.

She had her back to him when he quietly asked "How is she?"

Bonnie didn't need to ask who he was talking about.

"Stop. Don't pretend you actually care about her."

He looked down. Bonnie walked back over to him until she was mere inches away from his face. She grabbed his chin so would look at her. Klaus wanted to rip her arm off for touching him, but he knew he still needed her.

"I'm going to keep helping you because I need you alive, but I won't tolerate this bullshit. How do you think she is? Tyler died. _He_ loved her. _You_ don't care."

His own words echoed through his mind. _Love is a vampire's greatest weakness. We do not love, we do not feel and we do not care_.

He opened his mouth to start to respond, but he couldn't find the right words.

"I don't know what you were playing at, acting like you liked her. I don't know if messing with her was fun for you or if you were just trying to torture Tyler, but it will not continue. You will leave her alone."

And with that Bonnie stormed out of the house.

Klaus sat at the table and listened to her start her car and drive away.

Who did she think she was, giving him orders? No one tells Nicklaus Michelson what to do.

Bonnie stopped at the grocery story on her way home. She was mad. How dare he pretend with her? After everything she did for him?

A much smaller voice in the back of her head asked her if she was so sure he was lying. What if he really did care about Caroline? She remembered the decade dance, how he looked at her. Was he really just trying to get a rise out of Tyler? Or could there really be a chance... No, she wouldn't allow the thought to continue.

Bonnie recalled her conversation with Klaus earlier that night. She had said to him"I came here to figure out what the next step in the plan is, but i need to know a few things about you, and I need to know you aren't lying" She never did get a chance to ask him the things she wanted to ask, and she still wasn't sure he was lying. But she would find out. There had to be a spell for that.

She hardly paid attention to the items she put in her cart as she ran around the store. If Caroline woke up early, she'd be wondering why it took so long for Bonnie to pick up a few groceries. She remembered to check her phone. There was one new text, from Caroline: mint chocolate chip please! Bonnie's mood lifted. Caroline was going to pull through all this. Everything was going to be ok. She grabbed the ice cream and a jar of those red cherries that Caroline liked so much, and drove home.

Caroline and Bonnie spent the rest of the night eating ice cream and watching comedies. Bonnie was glad to be able to take her mind off everything for a little while. Tomorrow things would get a tiny bit easier, and so on until one day it would be easy to be happy again.

That night Caroline dreamed about the last time she saw Tyler. She remember how calm he looked even though she was a mess. "You're going to be fine, you're strong and you have a beautiful future in front of you"

The dream repeated itself every night for the next week. That one moment played on a loop in her mind. Every night when she fell asleep all she could see was Tyler in that one moment.

Bonnie walked back into the farmhouse. She had the cooler again, full of blood bags Abby gave her when she raided a blood bank a few towns over. Abby may have been an absent parent for most of her life, but she was doing everything possible to make up for it now. She helped her move the body, she got the blood for Klaus, and even now she was going through Grimoirs looking for something to heal Klaus's body before the put him back in it.

"You better have my body ready by now, sweetheart or I'm going to be very angry" Klaus appeared carrying a large wooden spoon. Was he cooking?

"And what are you going to do if I don't, Klaus? Kill me? You'll never get your body back."

"Then I'll huff, and I'll puff."

"Very cute." Bonnie said, and rolled her eyes. "Its going to take longer than we expected"

"How much longer"

"A month" Bonnie said quietly.

The spoon snapped in half. "A month! This is absurd. If you need more witches, I'll get you more witches!"

"It's not like that. not all magic is say a spell and focus some energy and everything happens in an instant. Some things take time. Abby and I found a potion that can help your body heal enough for us to put you back in it. Our main concern is that your heart needs to grow back to close its normal size before we can feel confident you'll survive in that body."

"The potion"

"It took a few days to make, we applied it starting two days ago and its working, but slowly. We need to keep reapplying it, especially directly where its needed most." Bonnie scrunched up her face.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I have to stick my whole hand in the crumbly charred hole in your chest and rub smelly goo all over the tiny piece of beef jerkified heart in your chest. Twice a day. and you're starting to grow some kind of mold."

Klaus took a moment to picture it. "You'll have a mansion. One with a very big garage full of expensive cars. Just pick out the one you'd like."

"You're offering?"

"I'm insisting."

"Can I put this table in it?" Bonnie motioned to the kitchen table.

"I'll make you a better one. I don't forget what you're doing for me. Just get me my body back."

He grabbed the pot he had dangling off the fireplace. Bonnie had brought a mini fridge and microwave to plug into the generator, but he seemed to prefer using the fireplace. "I made spaghetti" he mumbled, looking down. Was Klaus asking her to eat dinner with him? Sure he was probably bored from having to stay hidden so long, but it can't be unusual for someone as unpleasant as Klaus to spend a week or so alone.

"Can I have some?" Bonnie asked

He smiled. "Of course, anything for my rescuer" He looked around. "I don't really have anything to drink, there's some water in the fridge.."

"I've got a few bottles of wine in my car, I've been meaning to bring them over to you."

Somehow Bonnie found herself way past tipsy as Klaus pried open a second bottle and poured some into both of their glasses. "Can I ask you something" she said.

"Yes"

"Why did you want everyone to think you had a crush on Caroline? What was the plan behind that"

"Was it really that obvious... that I liked her?"

"painfully. But you're not answering my question. Why?"

"I wasn't pretending" he said. He looked her in the eye when he said it. It this was really Tyler, she would be certain he was telling her the truth. But Klaus was sneaky. Bonnie still wasn't sure.

"You don't care about people other than your family. Why her?"

"Because she's Caroline. Because she has this energy that makes her seem like she's glowing. Because when I gave her my blood I felt like she was saving my life instead of the other way around. She got under my skin."

Bonnie wanted to believe him. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny vial. "This stuff is a powerful truth syrum. If you take it willingly, knowing what it is, I can ask you five questions and I know you'll tell the truth. But it won't work if I force you to take it or if I slip it in your drink. So will you do it?"

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm going to ask you about Caroline. Because I have to hide her somewhere outside of Mystic Falls and that can be here or it can be somewhere you'll never find her."

He glared at her. He wanted to rip her apart for playing with him like this. He hated her in that instance. But he was also full of wine and out of hope and Bonnie seemed like the person he could trust the most. Klaus uncorked the tiny vial and drank.

Bonnie waited a minute and reached for his hand. "I'm going to need to be physically connected to you for this to work." She looked into his eyes and saw that the pupils were a bit dilated. "Ok, its ready. Question 1. How do you feel about Caroline Forbes?"

Without a second's pause he replied "I love her."

Bonnie shot him a stunned look. Love? How could he? Klaus was shocked by how quickly the words came out. Bonnie could tell he hadn't planned on saying that, but if it came out, it must have been the truth.

"um Question 2. What is the most important thing to you.?"

"Staying alive." He said. He glared at her. "That wasn't about Caroline."

"It was... in a way. Question 3. If you had to choose between staying alive and keeping Caroline safe, which would it be?"

"Staying alive" he instantly replied.

"Question 4. Will you kill me once I'm done helping you?"

"No."

"Question 5. Why not?"

"Because you're an excellent witch and you chose my side."

Bonnie let go of his hand. She stood up. "It's done. There aren't any more questions left on the syrum."

Klaus felt rage boiling inside him. It wasn't fair. She tricked him. He never wanted to say Love. He wasn't ready to admit it to himself, much less nosy little Bonnie Bennett. And making him choose life or Caroline. it wasn't fair. A vampire's nature is to protect oneself. He would always protect himself.

"Caroline will be here tomorrow. You should clean up a little bit."

He looked up at her in disbelief. "What? But I..."

"You told the truth. About staying alive, it wasn't what I wanted to hear. But I wasn't expecting to hear you say you loved her either. I know you won't sit idly by if someone comes after a person you love. Thats enough for now. I think she's safer with you than on her own."

"Bonnie" he stood up to look directly in her eyes. "Thank you" The words sounded so strange coming from him.

"Like I said, I'll drop her off tomorrow. But I'll be back with blood and supplies a week after that. And Klaus." she paused "She needs to know who you are by the time I get back. Don't torture her by letting her think she still has Tyler." He nodded in response to her and she was out the door.

"Caroline, I'm home"

"In here" Caroline called from the kitchen. "I thought you might be hungry so I made some spaghetti"

Bonnie laughed.

"Uh... I don't get it." Caroline replied, annoyed.

"It's nothing Care, I'm just so full right now. But thank you." Bonnie said. Caroline was slurping pasta out of a bowl and followed Bonnie to the couch. Bonnie realized this would be their last night together in the house. She would miss her best friend. "I have a safe house for you to go to." She said.

"Wow. I guess it's really happening" Caroline said, tears welling up in her eyes. She knew she had to get out of town soon, but it was so hard to imagine doing it alone. This was supposed to be her and Tyler.

"You need to pack enough stuff to get though a few weeks. You'll be in a house that has a generator for a few electronic things but the showers are buckets of well water. You can't bring a computer or phone, its too risky that someone will use it to track your location. You have to stay on the property at all times and stay inside as much as possible. I'll bring blood and food as often as possible. After the next couple of weeks, we'll figure out where to move you next, and you won't have to stay so hidden."

"Ok" Caroline whispered. It was so much to take in. That night after she packed up the duffel bag and suitcase she brought to Bonnie's house, she came downstairs and handed Bonnie her laptop and cell phone.

"It won't be forever, Caroline. You're going to get these back. I promise."

"Lets just enjoy our last night as roomies, ok?"

They were pulling into the driveway. Bonnie had to tell her eventually. "Theres something else you need to know."

Caroline looked at her quizzically.

"Theres someone else in this house. You're safe with them, I trust them. But listen to me Caroline. Things are not what they seem to be."

"Do you have to be so cryptic about it? Just tell me!"

"I'm afraid I can't." Bonnie said. She put the car in park and helped Caroline unload everything. "Now I have to go"

"You're not coming in? Can't you at least help me lug all these bags in so I don't have to make a million trips? There's like five people's worth of blood here."

"Sorry. I can't be here for the next part. You have to walk in those doors alone."

"Is this, like, a witch thing?"

"No. something else entirely." Bonnie said. She had promised Klaus she would give him a chance to tell her who he really was. If she was here, her face would give everything away.

"Bonnie, why are you being so confusing? Just tell me whats going on."

"I'm sorry. I'll see you a week from today. I love you"

"I love you too" Caroline said, and pulled her into a hug.

Bonnie walked back into the car and drove away.

Caroline watched the car go into the distance and picked up her duffel and one of the shopping bags full of blood bags and walked up to the front door.

He heard the car pull up. He paced around the empty living room anxiously. The coffee table he had built the day before was still out in the shed. He should have brought it inside. He should have found some way to get a couch or some soft chairs in here for her. Klaus snapped himself out of it. Why was he so concerned about stupid furniture? Caroline was out there right now, and she would be walking in the door any second. He would finally have her undivided attention. This was his chance.

Klaus leaned against the staircase, trying to look casual. The door opened.

Caroline dropped the bags and clapped her hands over her mouth. Her expression was one of pure shock, but it quickly softened into one of adoration and happiness. She lowered her hands and was smiling. That radiant smile he had only caught glimpses of was directed at him. He stood there, unable to move, absorbed by the reality of what was happening. Caroline was standing in front of him, looking at him like that, and he had her all to himself.

"Tyler?" she whispered.

His heart sank. The whole time he had spent pacing around waiting for this moment, thinking about the stupid furniture, he had completely forgotten what wretched body was in. Caroline would never look at him with that much love. It was all for her stupid Tyler.

"Tyler!" she said again, this time louder, and suddenly she was running towards him. One of the rails on the bannister behind him snapped as she slammed into him with vampire speed and force. Suddenly she was kissing him. Her arms were looped around his neck and she was holding on to him so tight a human would have been crushed. He kissed her back, meeting every forceful kiss with one just as powerful. He ran his hands down her sides and leaned down to reach behind her knees, hitching her legs up around his waist. She giggled and held on to him tighter. He pulled her in to a deeper kiss and she made a soft noise as she kissed him back. He spun around the empty room a few times while he held her by the small of her back, just because he knew it would make her smile.

Caroline let out a surprised noise when she felt him spin her around, but as she felt him twirl her in circles, she smiled from ear to ear. Tyler was alive, and he was right here. Nothing else mattered.

He took her into the kitchen and put her on the counter. She slid her hands from the back of his neck down his arms, and laced her fingers in hers. Klaus tried to remember if anyone ever held his hand like that. He knew he never cared so much about something as simple as a girl holding his hand.

"How?" she asked him "How are you alive?"

Why hadn't he thought of this? He was planning on telling her right away, but the greeting took him off guard. He just wanted to kiss her again. He wanted to do more than kiss her, but kissing would be a good start. And he knew once she knew what he really was, she wouldn't go near him. Would it really be so bad to play along for a little bit?

"I... don't know really...Bonnie did something magic ...somehow"

"But I saw you" she said, "you were dying."

"I know, it felt like I was. I ... I thought I did, but I woke up on the floor of the cave, and here I am" he said. It was weak, but he knew Tyler not understanding would be the easiest story to keep up.

"Klaus" she said. He felt a rush when she said his name. But she wasn't talking to him, she was talking to Tyler. She was asking if Klaus had the same luck that Tyler did.

"No, I mean, as far as I know, he's really dead." He stammered out. He searched her eyes as he said it. She avoided his stare and looked down.

"Oh, ok. well um, good riddance" she said. It was weak. She didn't have the hate in her voice like she did that night he gave her his blood. He remembered asking "Do you really think that low of me?" And her response, a "Yes" that sounded more like a growl than anything else. But this time, the same anger wasn't there. Could there be hope?

He was kicking himself for not thinking of a cover story ahead of time. Who would Tyler have talked to? How much would he know? "I.. uh... I guess when I felt like I was dying, I felt him die.. because of the sire bond?"

She nodded in agreement. "Right.. The sire bond. But how did you survive? Are you really alive, are you a ghost or something?" Bonnie had warned her that things would not be what they seemed.

"I don't know" he answered weakly. The less Tyler knows, the easier the story is to keep up.

"I'm just glad you're here" she said, squeezing his hand.

Thunder clapped somewhere nearby, and she flinched at the noise. ""Oh shit! The rest of my bags are still outside!"

They ran into the downpour and scrambled for all of the bags, there was a second one of Caroline's things, a bunch of grocery store brown bags filled with blood bags, and a few necessities Bonnie had brought, like food and extra sheets and pillows.

It took three trips but they finally got everything inside, although most of it was soaking wet.

He shut the door behind them and looked at her. She was drenched and mascara was running down her cheeks, but she was still the most beautiful person he had ever seen. Caroline pulled off the soaked hoodie she was wearing, and awkwardly looked around for a place to hang it. He smiled at her as she found a doorknob to hand it on. The pale blue tank she had on under was soaked too, and it clung to her skin. He could see the black lace bra she had on under it.

Caroline caught him looking and smirked. She closed the distance between them and kissed him. He went straight for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. He ran his hands allover the newly exposed skin. She pulled away and whispered in his ear "Lets get you out of those wet clothes"

Caroline peeled layers of wet clothes off Tyler as he led her down the hall to the the room the makeshift bed was in. She hooked her foot over his pants once they were halfway off so he could easily step out of them. Once they were gone, she slipped a hand under the waistband of his boxers and started to stroke him.

She was confused when he wiggled away and took a step back. Was she doing something wrong? He smiled and unbuttoned her pants and started to slide them down. She tried to reach down to get them all the way off, but he stopped her, looped an arm around her waist and carried her to the bed. That was new. He sat by her feet and slowly pulled her pants the rest of the way off. He ran his hand up her leg and she shivered. Suddenly he was kissing his way up her leg. When he got up to her thigh, his hand ran down her stomach and over her underwear, his thumb applying pressure where she wanted it most. She felt him smile as he continued kissing the inside of her thigh as his hand found the wet patch at her core.

He removed his hand and she whimpered at the loss, but suddenly he was looping both hands through her underwear and pulling them off. He slid her down the bed, pulling her by the ankles so she was closer to him, and slid her legs over his shoulder. Suddenly she realized what he was about to do. She was confused. Tyler never does this, she thought, but his mouth was on her and she was too overwhelmed by the sensation to care.

She arched her back and gasped as he continued. She was getting close.. almost there... and suddenly he stopped. No! But he was quickly pulling her onto his lap as he unhooked her bra and started to devote his attention to her breasts, taking one nipple into his mouth as he caressed the other breast, then switching sides. She rocked in his lap as he did this, feeling his hardness. She felt like she was going to explode.

When he finally brought his mouth up to hers she kissed back with force. She ran her fingers through his hair as she slid her tongue across his lower lip. She broke free of his hold and got out of his lap so she could get rid of the boxers he was still wearing.

Seconds later he was on top of her, kissing her, his hands running up and down her sides. She took his length and guided it in to her. They quickly found the right rhythm, and she was bucking against him, meeting each thrust. She was clawing at his back and moaning at the feeling of it all. She felt herself getting closer. She was almost there. And suddenly the ripples of pleasure were all over her and she let out a scream of joy. She felt him start to come just after she did. Sweating and out of breath, they clung to each other as they laid in the aftershock.

Klaus woke up in the middle of the night. He heard an owl hooting somewhere in the yard. He started to sit up but he felt something. Caroline's head was resting on his chest. He looked down at her naked body, tangled in sheets. He knew he was going to pay severely for this. She would find out eventually who he really was, and she would only hate him more. But for now, he could be with her. And for now, it was enough.


	2. Chapter 2

Caroline woke up with an arm wrapped tightly around her. She awkwardly wiggled out and wrapped herself in a sheet. As she padded around the house she assessed the damage. there were piles of soggy clothes all over the floor, and her bags were still in the front room, still drenched from being out in the thunderstorm last night. She started to pull the clothes out of her duffel and found the book she had packed. It was a huge hardcover novel that she picked to occupy her time when she thought she'd be in the house alone. Now all the pages were warped and wavy around the edges from getting wet, but the words were still ok. She didn't hear him walk into the room.

Klaus pretended he was still asleep when he felt Caroline wake up. He opened one eye a fraction and watched her wiggle out of bed and create a makeshift dress out of the tangled sheet. Why was everything she did so adorable? He listened to her walk around for a minute, then got up to follow her. He walked into the front room and saw her sitting on the ground with her back to him. She was holding a large book. He saw her flip through the pages and open to one towards the back. There was something stuck between the pages.

It was his drawing, the one of her and a horse. She ran her fingers over it, and he could see that it had gotten wet, causing the edges of it to bleed and the paper to warp. He couldn't believe it. She brought it with her. When she was running away and could only bring what she could carry, she chose to bring his drawing. He shifted his weight and the floor creaked. She slammed the book shut instantly and turned around to face him.

"Hey" he said softly, and he sat down next to her. She had been crying. She pulled up the sheet she was wearing and wiped her face. "Whats wrong?" he asked. He didn't tell her he saw the drawing.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how much I miss everyone back in Mystic Falls." She said. He could tell she was lying. She couldn't look right at him when she said it.

He pulled her into a hug and they sat quietly for a few minutes. "I need to hang all these clothes up. I don't have anything to wear that isn't soaked." she said.

"I don't see the problem" he joked.

"Well, I'm not spending the rest of the week in a toga, so I need to find a place to hang all this stuff." she said.

"Ok, there's so rope in one of the buildings out back, we can set up a clothesline"

"How do you know that?"

"I was bored before you got here, so I went out there to check it out"

"Ok. can I borrow something of yours to wear for today?"

"If I say no, does that mean you'll just go naked for the rest of the day?" he joked.

"Tyler!" She hit him playfully.

"Fine. Come with me"

He led her back into the room they slept in and grabbed the laundry bag full of clothes Bonnie had given him. It was mostly Jamie's stuff, except for what Tyler had been wearing the day his soul was swapped. She didn't want to risk breaking in to the Lockwood mansion to get Tyler's clothes, and Jamie was around the same size.

"Here" he said, handing her the bag "Pick whatever you want"

She smiled and dug through it. She was hoping to find this one really soft t shirt of his that she had borrowed once before. She couldn't find it though. Actually, none of these clothes looked familiar. She grabbed a long sleeve button down shit and figured it was long enough to wear as a dress.

Caroline followed him into the shed to get the string for her clothesline.

Klaus opened one of the cabinets and pulled out a ball of twine. "I think this will work fine. Did you bring the clothes out-"

"Whats this?" she asked.

"Whats what?" he responded.

"This" she said, pointing to the coffee table he had built the other day. There were shavings on the ground below it from the pattern he carved into the top of it, and a hammer and a few spare nails were sitting on it.

"I made it."

"No you didn't" she laughed

"Yes, I did"

"Ty. come on. Who else was here?" Caroline said. There was no way Tyler built this table and carved the intricate twists and curls into it. She went to Ikea with him to pick out a shelf for his bedroom last month, because she thought it would be a cute date. Then they got back to his house and he got really cranky because he couldn't get the thing to stay together. Caroline ended up putting the whole thing together herself because he was too stubborn and annoyed to help her.

"No. one." The irritation in his voice was clear.

"Tyler!" she was exasperated. Why was he lying to her?

"Fine. Don't believe me. I'm going to set up the clothesline." he walked out in a huff.

Klaus selected two trees that seemed an appropriate distance apart and started to tie the twine to one of them. He hoped she would drop it and stop asking him about the stupid table. He should have destroyed it before she arrived. If it wasn't so obvious that it was just made, he could have told her he found it there. Why didn't he think of a decent lie? Obviously this was something that wasn't very characteristic of Tyler. What if she was getting suspicious?

Caroline watched from the shed as he rigged up the clothesline. Something was different about him, but she couldn't quite place it. She ran her hand along the groves in the table. It was really beautiful. But how did Tyler learn how to do something like that without her knowing? They hadn't been together that long, but she still felt like the intensity of their relationship, of everything they've been though, meant they knew pretty much everything about each other.

Later that night, they were laying in bed talking about what would happen when they left the safe house. Caroline traced her fingers along his palm as she thought out loud about their options.

"We'll need to stay away from Mystic Falls for a while. And we have Passports and enough money to buy plane tickets. We don't have a car. Maybe Bonnie could drive to some car dealership and we could compel the person to give us a car? I don't want to end up somewhere where one of the Originals might be. Where do you think they would go?"

"mmm, I dunno" he replied. He wasn't really listening, he was just focusing on being with her and hearing the sound of her voice and feeling her finger run along his palm. these plans for the future weren't about him. They were her plans with Tyler. She would find out that he wasn't Tyler, and that would be the end of it. He would never get to be with her, no matter where she went.

"Tyler! We can't stay in this house forever! Bonnie said it would be best to stay hidden here for a few weeks, and after that it would be safer to get far away from Mystic Falls. Don't you care where we'll go."

"No, I don't care as long as I'm with you. We can go anywhere in the world, and we can compel people to give us things and money, and you can live like a princess."

"The seems kinda unethical.. its like stealing"

"Then we'll only compel people who can afford it. We'll take money from banks and big corporations, not little people. I promise to always tip the waiter."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I guess I didn't think about how we would keep living after the money from our moms ran out. I could get a job..."

"I just picked out a great job for us! We'll be bank robbers! Like Bonnie and Clyde, but we're vampires so we'll never get caught."

Caroline had a glint in her eye. She looked at him like she was about to tell him to get serious, but he could tell some small part of her thought it would be fun to have an outlaw adventure.

"So we'll figure out the job thing later...but where should we go?"

"You pick. Where have you always wanted to go?"

"Well, I've wanted to go to Hawaii ever since Elena and her family went in 6th grade. She came back with all these cool necklaces and she got to take surfing lessons and lie on the beach all day"

"Ok, Hawaii it is" He said.

"But recently, I've been thinking of other places I really want to go"

"Where?"

"Rome, Paris, Tokyo." She said. She was picturing that night when Klaus had offered to show her the world, starting with those three cities. She didn't keep thinking of them because of him. they just sounded like great cities. At least thats what she kept telling herself.

Klaus felt like his heart was going to explode. She listed those cities he promised to take her to. Even in the same order he said them. He had left some kind of mark on her. Maybe it wasn't impossible. Maybe if he could just get her to see...

"Tyler?" she asked "What do you think of those places?"

"Oh. yeah. um, even better. lets go there."

Klaus stayed awake long after he felt Caroline fall asleep. There was a possibility. There was a chance. She had the drawing, and she said those three cities. He would tell her who he really was before Bonnie came back. But before he could, he had to do something to prove to her that he was worth taking a chance on. He couldn't just lean on pretending to be Tyler. He had to make her fall more in love with the the Tyler she was with this week than she had ever been with the old Tyler. Only then would he have a chance of getting to keep her.


	3. Chapter 3

"Bonnie says we have to stay by the house. She doesn't want us leaving the property" Caroline said. She and Klaus were sitting on the front porch drinking coffee. She still thought he was Tyler. Today he had been trying to convince her to go exploring their surroundings, but she was nervous about leaving the house, because Bonnie told her thats where she would be safest.

"Do you do everything Bonnie tells you to do?"

"Well I think this is a special case. We're supposed to be hiding from everyone until we can get further away from Mystic Falls."

"We're in the middle of nowhere! Who is going to see us?"

"It just seems risky." she said.

"Thats what makes it fun!"

"All right. fine."

* * *

They had been hiking though the woods for hours. It was getting really hot by mid-day and Caroline was feeling a little cranky. Was this supposed to be fun?

He had noticed her starting to drag. He was trying to do something fun for her, but this seemed to be missing the mark. Klaus was expecting to find some kind of villiage or town by now, but there was really nothing around.

"Do you hear that" he asked.

"What?" she asked. She felt a lurch in her stomach. What did he hear? Was someone else there?

"Shhh. Just listen."

"I don't hear anything!"

He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "Close your eyes."

She closed her eyes and tried harder. "water?"

"yes" he replied.

She turned to face him. "How did you hear that before? I could only hear it once I stopped and concentrated really hard."

"You just weren't paying attention. Next time you'll probably hear it before me."

She doubted it. She had never noticed before, but Tyler was some kind of nature buff. He kept pointing out all the things that were edible or poisonous, and when she worried about how they would find their way back he explained how he was using the moss and ivy to track which direction they were going in to they could easily do the opposite to get back. Maybe he was a boy scout when he was younger.

"Ok, now close your eyes again and listen to the water. I want you to tell me which direction its coming from" he said.

She closed her eyes and leaned into him. She concentrated on the sounds around her and tried to isolate the sound of running water. "That way" she pointed, and looked to him to confirm it. He smiled.

* * *

Twenty minutes later they were standing alongside a stream that cut through the forest. It was dotted with rock and the water seemed to be moving quickly. They walked along the edge of the water until they reached a cliff. There was a sharp drop down into a deeper pool of water. The rushing body of water next to them cascaded down as a waterfall.

He walked over to the edge of the cliff that jutted out the most. "It seems deep enough"

"You want to jump?"

"Yeah. It'll be fun."

She looked at him like he was crazy. "What if there's sharp rocks or if it's not as deep as it seems?"

"Uh, we're vampires. It'll hurt for a minute and then we'll heal."

She crept out to the edge he was standing on. She looked down. It was a long drop. She really wanted to jump but it was really scary. She shook her head no and started to inch away from the cliff.

"Caroline. Don't be afraid to take a chance."

She felt as if she had been glued to the ground she stood on.

"Ok. I'll go first. You can watch and see what happens. If I don't end up landing on a bunch of rocks, then I'll come back up and we can jump together?"

She shot him a skeptical look.

"Don't you trust me?" he asked

"No!" she laughed.

He feigned an insulted face that made her giggle.

"Alright, well I'm going to jump anyway."

She watched nervously as Tyler stripped down to his underwear and walked over to the cliff. He took a few steps back.

"Wait!" she yelled.

He turned around.

"I'll go with you" she said.

He ran over to her and lifted her up, kissing her. Once he let her go she pulled off everything except her bra and underwear. They walked over to the edge holding hands. He took five steps back and she followed.

"On the count of three we're going to run, and jump as far away from the edge as possible, ok?

"Ok" she said, wishing she could hide the nerves in her voice.

"Are you sure you're ok doing this?" he asked

"Positive."

He kissed her again and pulled her into a tight hug. There was something different about the way he kissed her lately. Ever since that night where she thought he was about to die. She couldn't quite tell what it was. But it was nice. Really nice."

"One."

"Two"

"Three!"

They were running. She gripped his hand tightly as they pushed off from the cliff. they were only in the air for a second but it felt like forever. It was exhilarating and scary at the same time. Ten times better than riding a roller coasted. Then they plunged into cool water. Their hands were pulled apart by the force of landing in the water. She swam up to the surface.

As soon as she popped up her head she saw his splash up. They were both smiling as they tried to catch their breath. He swam closer to the edge until he could stand in the water with his feet touching the sandy floor of the lake. Caroline followed him and hugged him.

"That was amazing!" she said. The adrenaline pumping through her veins from the jump had given her a rush. "I want to do it again! ten more times!"

"I knew you would like it! Do you trust me now? he said.

"Yes." she said softly "I trust you"

He pulled her into a tighter hug and closed his eyes. No one had ever said that to him before, not even Rebecca. Even his thousand year old family, with their centuries of love and loyalty did not trust him. And who could blame them? He hadn't exactly deserved their trust.

"mmm say that again" he whispered into her hair as she nuzzled against his neck.

She kissed his neck "I trust you" she said, then kissed his shoulder. "I trust you" and kissed his chest, "I trust you" and kissed his neck again, and gently sucked.

He felt a jolt of electricity shoot through his body as she sucked on his neck. Before he could stop himself he was kissing her, running his hands through her tangled wet hair.

She kissed back, and pulled his lower lip into her mouth and tugged on it. Once he got it back, he did the same to her and she let out a soft moan. She pressed her body against his and he felt himself start to get hard. She must have felt it too, because she slipped a hand under the water and started to rub him over his boxers. He responded by kissing down her neck until he found the spot that mad her arch her back. He concentrated on that spot, gripping the back of her neck with one hand as he unhooked her bra with the other. He flung it towards the shore. "You're so beautiful" he whispered in her ear as he ran his hands along her body.

He ran a finger along the elastic band of the her pink lace panties and slowly slipped his hand in. She sucked in a deep breath as his fingers ran against her . When he slipped one inside of her she dug her nails into his back. He continued for a minute and she leaned into him, encouraging each movement. Then she backed away and reached for his boxer. She let her hand linger against him as she slid them off, and she whispered into his ear "now. please."

That was all he needed. He pulled her underwear off and held her by the back of her thighs. It was a tricky move, but he expertly slid into her as she wrapped her legs around him. They moved together, chest deep in the water, the tension within each of them slowly building up.

Suddenly he stopped. Caroline looked disappointed. "Come with me" he said and he eased her off of him so her feet were back on the ground. He waded a few feet over to another low spot against the edge of the stony cliff. She followed, tightly holding his hand.

He guided her by the waist and positioned her so she was facing he stone. He took her wrists and placed her hands against the cool rocks. Caroline was thrilled. Usually Tyler found a position that worked (for him) and stuck to it. This was completely new. It felt dangerous and exciting and she had never been so turned on in her life. He stood behind her and gripped her waist as he pushed into her. Caroline was overwhelmed by how amazing it felt. She leaned forward a bit and it was even better. She had never done it like this, the angle he was hitting her at was perfect, She moaned in appreciation each time he slid against that one delicious spot.

His hands were all over, finding every place she wanted to be touched. It was like he was reading her mind. As he kissed her neck she reached one hand behind so she could tug on his hair. He growled into her when she pulled on it and thrust into her harder. She felt pleased that she found something new that turned him on, so she pulled again.

He was on fire. As he pushed into her, he had one hand on her breast and another sliding down her stomach. When she pulled on his hair he felt like he was about to explode, but he had to get her to finish first. He pushed into her harder and moved his hand lower. He roughly massaged her most sensitive spot with a finger as he used the heal of his palm to pull her towards him each time he pushed into her.

Soon she was shaking all over and screaming the dirtiest words he ever heard come out of her mouth. She pulsed around him as she came and he went over the edge, shouting her name.

After it was all over she turned around and leaned against the rock. Still out of breath, she said "Holy shit, Ty. What happened when you almost died?"

"I got a second chance at life. I'm not going to waste it. I'll spend every day doing whatever it takes to make you happy." he paused. "As long as you want me around, that is." As he said the words, he knew he wasn't saying them as Tyler. He really meant them.

"Are you crazy? I'm always going to want to be with you." she said, and kissed his forehead. "I'm hungry though, can we go back and eat once we find all our clothes?"

* * *

He had been running through the woods at vampire speed, with her riding piggyback, when he slowed down to take a break.

She slid off his back and looked around. Off in the distance was some sort of farm. There were rows of corn and tomatoes, and tons of different green looking things.

"Look!" she pointed towards it "Do you think we could.."

"We might get caught" he grinned.

"You're the one who wanted to be bank robbers. Afraid of stealing a few vegetables?"

He was delighted by the prospect of committing some minor thievery with Caroline. He was even more thrilled that it was her idea. Klaus took off his shirt.

"Here. We can use this to hold them. Stay low to the ground and if you hear anyone coming run as fast as you can."

She was a natural. Caroline slinked around grabbing tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, and corn. He wandered over to a section of the farm that had different types of fruit. He found a bucket on the ground and filled it with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. Especially strawberries, those were his favorite.

* * *

When they got back to the house, Caroline was chatting away about some recipe her dad's old boyfriend taught her that involved eggplant and tomatoes, and how she thought she might be able to make something similar with the supplies they had. He just sat there and smiled as he watched her. Bonnie would be back in two days. He would wait another day to tell her, and then she would have a day to process everything before Bonnie got there. More importantly, he had a day when she would be stuck here with him, and he would be able to use that time to convince her that she could still be with him, even though he wasn't really Tyler. But he knew that it was a slim chance. She would probably never forgive him for tricking her, even if he was the world's best boyfriend for those few days when she thought he was Tyler. So he would put it off until tomorrow. That way he'd get one more night of sleeping next to her. One more day of her looking at him like she loved him.

Caroline glanced over at him and smiled. He started helping by rinsing the fruits and vegetables in the bucket of water they placed in the sink. She thought about how perfect things were between them. Her entire relationship with Tyler had been among chaos, with supernatural creatures trying to kill them, they never really got to just relax and enjoy being together.

She couldn't believe how sweet he was being. He had even picked all those strawberries, because he knew she loved them. He wouldn't eat any because he was super allergic. She would have to remember to brush her teeth and rinse with mouthwash before trying to kiss him. One time she ate strawberries at lunch and he kissed her when they crossed paths in the hall after lunch. His whole face got swollen and blotchy red and he had to go home. She had felt so guilty, but he never told her before, so how could she have known?

"That looks interesting" he said cautiously, as he looked into the pot she was piling her ingredients into.

"Shut up!" she said, and playfully shoved him "Its going to be great"

He held his hands up "Ok, if you insist"

"Oh, and I suppose you could do so much better?" she challenged, feeling a little smug. She knew Mrs. Lockwood was a bit of a smothering parent. She still did his laundry. there's no way that Tyler has ever cooked anything in his life.

"I happen to be a fantastic chef" he boasted.

"really?" she challenged

"Just name it, and I can cook it. Go on, whats your favorite?"

He smiled as he waited for her to respond. While he was waiting he casually picked up a strawberry and was about to bite into it when her hand whipped it away from him at lightning speed and it landed on the floor with a splat.

"TYLER WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, YOU'RE ALLERGIC TO-" she was yelling at him and suddenly she cut herself off. She heard Bonnie's warning in her head._ Things are not what they seem to be_. Tears filled her eyes as she slowly backed away from him. She grabbed the knife she was cutting the vegetables with.

"The first time you kissed me. Where were we?" she asked, wishing that her voice didn't sound so shaky.

He looked down. It was all over. She looked terrified as tears started to pour down her face, and it was all his fault.

"You're not Tyler" she said.

"No" he whispered. He felt like he had been kicked in the stomach. He wasn't ready for this.

She ran.


	4. Chapter 4

Caroline ran out of the house clutching the kitchen knife. She kept running down the long dirt road that had led her to the farm. She wasn't thinking about where she was going or what to do. She didn't care that some human might see her flash by, running barefoot at an impossible speed, wielding a large knife. All she could do was run at vampire speed as far away from that house as possible.

She saw some houses in the distance in front of her and woods to her side, so she changed her path and ran into the woods. She didn't feel anything as twigs and rocks cut at her feet, leaving bloody footprints behind.

After a few miles she found herself in front of some kind of cabin. It was small and unoccupied, but it was furnished and seemed like someone visited it occasionally. She noticed lots of deer and moose heads mounted on the walls, along with photos of a group of middle aged men standing proudly over their kills. It must have been some kind of hunting cabin.

She rummaged through the cabinets and found a power bar and a can of warm soda. She ate and drank quickly, feeling a little better, but what she really wanted was blood.

She looked around the cabin, wondering if the hunters had left any of their weapons there. Caroline tore apart the bedrooms, searching in closets and under beds. In the largest bedroom there was a safe the size of her locker at school. For a second she considered trying to crack the code, but she remembered that she was a vampire and ripped the door off.

There were two rifles and a box of bullets sitting inside the safe. She pulled them out and sat on the bed. She carefully loaded each of them, and put a handful of extra bullets in her pocket. Grabbing another energy bar, she walked around the cabin looking at the pictures. There were a few of the men sitting in some kind of treehouse, drinking beers and holding their guns. It must have been a tower they hunted from.

She rummaged through the cabinets for some more food and came across an unopened bag of chips and a half-empty bottle of scotch. She found a canvas sack to put the food and the knife she had with her in.

It was getting dark out. She wandered around outside the cabin, looking for the little treehouse. Eventually she found a tree with a bunch of wooden posts nailed into it. She shuffled all the things she was holding so she would have a free hand to climb, and worked her way up the tree.

The treehouse was nothing more than a few boards in the shape of a cube. Each side had slits in it that one could look through or poke a gun through. It was a flimsy shelter, but she doubted she would find a safer place that night. She unscrewed the cap of the bottle and pulled the bag open.

* * *

Klaus watched her run out of the house. The look she gave him was pure fear. He wanted to chase her down and make her sit still and listen to him. He wanted to tell her not to be afraid.

He had messed up in a big way. That much was clear to him, although he was still convinced the situation was salvageable. He thought just maybe, he could fix this. The strawberry she slapped away from him was smashed against the floor. He slumped down and laid on the floor next to it.

* * *

Caroline kept drinking. She needed to numb her mind. Tyler was really dead. It was easier to accept a second time, she had already grieved for him, but it still stung. She thought about how happy she had been with him this past week, how many times she stopped to think about how it was the best their relationship had ever been. Now she felt sick for having thought such things.

Her mind wandered to earlier that day. Holding his hand, jumping off the cliff into the lake. She was in awe of how Tyler got her to step out of her comfort zone. She loved that he didn't treat her like the little Barbie everyone seemed to think she was. But it was all a cruel joke. The perfect moments she was always waiting to happen with Tyler finally happened, but they weren't real. It was some impostor walking around in his skin. And after... her stomach lurched. She felt bile rising up in her throat. She had sex with him. More than once. And she liked it. Caroline grabbed the canvas sack and threw up into it.

It wouldn't stop. She felt like she had heaved up more than her stomach could possibly have held. But every time she thought she was done, the image of them having sex flashed through her mind and more came out.

Sweating and shaking, she closed the bag and flung it out of the tree house. She curled up into a ball clutching the bottle, taking little sips to get the taste of vomit out of her mouth.

Bonnie was the person she had trusted the most and she had betrayed her. She sent her into that house knowing that someone was posing as Tyler. Why didn't she tell her who it really was? Why would Bonnie torture her with false hope? Who was it anyway?

Oh god.

She remembered Tyler standing on that cliff. _Caroline, don't be afraid to take a chance._ And it clicked. _ Take a chance, Caroline. Talk to me_. She had heard those words before. But not from Tyler. That night outside the Mystic Grill. That moment when she felt the first little pang of guilt for distracting him from the others trying to stake Kol. She remembered the way he looked at her that night. The way Tyler had been looking at her this week. Suddenly it seemed painfully obvious. Tiny flashes of little mannerisms and expressions. Why hadn't she noticed them before? And why did she have to mention Rome, Paris, and Tokyo? How had she not taken the hint when he looked at her that way when she had said those words? Why didn't she take Bonnie's warning to heart and try to figure out what exactly was not what it seemed to be?

It was Klaus.

She had spent the last week falling in love with Klaus. Talking to him for hours at a time, falling asleep with her head on his chest, planning their future together. Rage boiled in her chest. How dare he? He tricked her, he manipulated her. And Bonnie let him. There was no one left she could trust.

* * *

He gave himself a few minutes to soak in his self pity. Then he slowly got up. The front door was wide open from when she ran out of the house. She was long gone. He knew he would have a chance of tracking her if he changed into his wolf form, but it would really, really hurt.

Klaus rolled up a pair of pants, so he could hold them in his mouth once he got all wolfy. He still wasn't sure how to talk to her after this, but he knew it wouldn't help things if he was naked for this conversation.

He had forgotten how painful it was to force himself to change. Every bone snapped and broke, every nerve set of jolts of pain, he felt like he was being torn to pieces and it felt like it would never end. Once he was fully changed he noticed the trail. He tore after her.

She had gone really far. Even as a wolf he felt achy and sore from running this far. Her scent was getting stronger as he followed it. But it wasn't just a normal scent he was tracking. It was blood. Her blood was leaving a trail through the woods.

He followed it for a while until he was sure he was close. He spat out the pants in his mouth and braced himself for the painful transformation back into a human body.

* * *

Caroline sat up quickly. She heard something. A loud crunch, and an animalistic noise. It continued. More crunching and more growly noises and canine whines. She knew these noises. It wasn't a full moon. Unless there was another hybrid around, Klaus had found her. She saw him appear out of the woods. He was walking deliberately, looking at the ground. He walked up to the hunting cabin, but instead of going in he started walking in her direction. It was like he was following a path. She was mad at herself for making this so easy for him.

He was standing at the foot of the tree.

"Caroline?" he called up. "Caroline, love, please let me explain."

She fired off a warning shot. Well, actually, she had intended to hit him, but her aim wasn't so good. He looked surprised, but he didn't move. She was annoyed that he wasn't more afraid.

She fired again. This time it hit him in the shoulder and he looked like he was about to lose his balance, but he didn't even fall over. He took a minute to pry the bullet out. She saw his face scrunch up as he stuck his fingers into the wound and she hoped it hurt a lot.

"Caroline, please. I just want to talk"

"Well I don't want to talk. I want you to leave me alone" she shouted back.

"I'm not going to do that. I think we have something special, If you'll just give me a chance, love"

"Are you fucking kidding me? You're a lying sack of shit and you practically raped me!" she shouted down at him. He looked up at her, confused.

"No.. it wasn't like that... thats not the same.."

He had the audacity to deny it? How could he honestly be confused by how she felt? Did he really see nothing wrong with tricking someone into having sex with him? Tricking someone into loving him? She reloaded and this time she hit him in the chest.

He doubled over, holding his chest where she shot him. He grit his teeth and pulled the bullet out.

Slowly standing back up he continued "I didn't rape you. I mean.. We.. but you... Caroline, please. I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you the truth."

She was shaking with anger. She threw the gun at him, hoping it would hit him in the face. But he was too quick and dodged it. He looked up and smiled at her. He _smiled_. And not his evil Klaus smile either, a smile like a little kid in Disney World. What was wrong with him?

"I Love you!" he shouted. "I love you, Caroline Forbes and everything I said and did this week was true. I just wanted to prove to you who I was, before I told you I was me, because I knew it was the only way you would give me a chance."

She was stunned. confused. still angry, but in a different way. She had no response for this, and just stared back at him with a blank expression.

"I'm going to come up there, ok? I just want to talk. Caroline?"

She didn't say anything.

He started to climb up towards the treehouse. Once she was out of his line of sight she smiled. He thought that her throwing down the gun was some kind of peace offering. He thought she was surrendering her weapon.

She saw a hand grasp the floor of the treehouse and his face followed. She saw the cautiously hopeful expression for only a fragment of a second before she swung and hit him square in the face with the butt of the second shotgun with all the force she could muster. He landed with a loud crunch and just for spite, she threw the gun down after him.

It would take him a little while to heal from all those broken bones, so she took the chance to get down from the treehouse. When she walked past him he spit blood and rasped out "you... tricked me"

She stuck her knife in his stomach and twisted it. Then she ran all the way back to the farmhouse.

* * *

He laid there in a pool of his own blood, waiting for all his bones to heal. Once he could walk, he would hunt some animal in the forest so he would have enough strength to get back to the farmhouse. He was going to go after her. This wasn't going to stop him.

He couldn't believe how much it hurt. Not the physical pain of being shot at and pushed out of a tree, but the emotional pain of it all. He told her he loved her and she broke every bone in his face. She looked at him with hate as she plunged a knife into him. She had been wronged and she was going to make him pay. He didn't care. He remembered the pride Tyler had in his voice when he bragged about breaking every bone in his body a hundred times out of love for Caroline. If it was broken bones she wanted he would give her something to swing at him. He would let her keep breaking his bones until she wasn't angry anymore. Tyler Lockwood wasn't the only one willing to go through hell to be with Caroline Forbes.

* * *

Caroline made it back to the house covered in dirt and dried blood and completely exhausted. She felt disgusting. She cursed Bonnie for not picking a house with running water as she lugged buckets of water from the well into the bathtub.

Once it was full enough, she eased herself in to the cool water. She brought a blood bag in with her and sipped slowly. She felt strangely good. It felt good to cause him pain, after what he put her though. She felt even better about having tricked him. He felt a second of hope before she clobbered him with enough force to send him flying out of the tree. She had tricked him into thinking it was really that easy. Just like he had tricked her into believing the person she loved was alive.

She wrapped herself in a towel and padded to the bedroom. She changed into pajamas and curled up in bed. He would be back soon. She knew he wasn't going to give up yet. And a tiny part of her was glad that he wasn't. But she refused to acknowledge it as she drifted off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey Abby, come look at this" Bonnie called over her shoulder. She still felt weird calling her mom, and Abby hadn't pressed the issue.

"Yeah. Oh. Wow." Abby exclaimed. She had just walked down into the basement where Klaus's body was propped up on a ping pong table. Bonnie had one hand in his chest and the other was scooping goo out of a cast iron pot.

"I thought it would progress at the same pace as the first few days, but it's been healing faster each day. I think he's almost ready." Bonnie said.

Abby looked over the body. "I think so too. If he keeps healing faster each day, we could have him back in before the end of the week."

"Yeah" Bonnie replied, and wiped off her hand on his jacket.

"Are you sure you want to? Put him back in his body?"

"What good is keeping him out of it? It's disrespectful to Tyler to let Klaus keep on living in his skin. And Klaus is the same no matter what body he's in. He'll still be dangerous."

"If he's so dangerous, why did you dump your best friend in the middle of nowhere with him?"

"You know what I mean. We're all dangerous. Me. You. Even Elena now that she's a vampire. We all have too much power."

"Once you put him back in his body, he'll go back to his siblings and they'll come after us all."

"I don't think he will"

"Bonnie, how can you be so capricious? You can't trust vampires"

"Said the vampire. There was a truth syrum; he said he wouldn't hurt me. If I help him I've shown loyalty to him, and I'm showing just how useful I can be. I'm the reason he didn't die when the stake went in his body. I don't like him, but I want him as an ally."

"You're going over there tomorrow?"

"Yeah"

"Be careful."

* * *

He slipped into the house as quietly as possible. It was late, past midnight. He found her asleep, curled up with blankets piled high over her. Caroline looked so peaceful, no one would have ever guessed that she was capable of the violence she inflicted on him earlier that night.

He wanted to reach out and touch her, but decided against it. Instead he found the sketchbook and graphite pencils he hid under a pile of clothes, the one thing he requested Bonnie bring him when he was holed up here alone. He flipped through the pages. They were all her.

He found a blank one and sat against the wall opposite her. He thought about drawing her as she was, sleeping, but he suspected she wouldn't like that. Instead he drew her standing tall, holding one of the rifles from the hunting cabin. She looked strong and defiant. Powerful. He drew a wolf pelt slung over her shoulders, and hoped she would see the humor in it. He glanced over it, looking for errors, and when he was satisfied, he added a few words to the the bottom of the page: _**The woman I love**_.

He placed the drawing on the mattress next to her and walked out of the room. He stopped in the kitchen and grabbed a blood bag. He wandered into the back yard while he sipped it, walking aimlessly. Before he knew what he was doing he found himself at the cliff where they had jumped. Klaus sat at the edge and looked down. He soaked in the memory of the day they had spent there. Then he jumped.

* * *

Caroline dreamed of the same thing she had been dreaming of for weeks. that last moment she had with Tyler, their last kiss, the way he had looked into her eyes when he said goodbye. _You're going to be fine, Caroline. You're strong and you have a beautiful future ahead of you_. But his time it wasn't him. When she relived them memory in her dream, it was Klaus's face in front of her.

She woke up with a start, and felt a crunch. She had rolled on to some paper in her sleep. She rubbed her eyes and picked it up. It was a picture of her, except she looked so much stronger, like a warrior. She thought of the other drawing her gave her. She looked so beautiful in both of these pictures. It was undoubtably her, but she was just better in these pictures. She looked at it and wished she could be the person in the picture. Was this how he saw her?

She noticed the wolf pelt she was wearing in the picture and grinned. She thought about how good it would feel to peel the skin off Klaus's back and wear it like a coat. But then she noticed the caption at the bottom. Again with that love thing. Who did he think he was fooling?

The sun shone though the windows in the kitchen, leaving streaks of light across the floor. Caroline remembered her earliest days of being a vampire, before she got her daylight ring from Bonnie, and the searing pain of skin in sunlight. She touched the ring and wished Bonnie was here. She was still mad at her for not telling the truth about who she was sharing the house with, but at the same time, Caroline really missed her friend and wanted someone to talk to, someone to tell her what to do about this mess she found herself in.

Elena would be furious with her for even considering being cordial with Klaus. She would remind her of how he killed Jenna, turned Tyler into his hybrid errand boy, came close to killing Elena more than once. Yet Elena was clearly in love with Damon, no matter how much she tried to deny it. Damon killed Lexi, turned Abby. Caroline still hadn't completely forgiven him for how he treated her when she was human. Damon had been a monster to Caroline, yet he was Elena's epic love. Even if Elena wasn't ready to admit it, Damon would probably be the love of her life. There was passion and devotion and true selfless love there, he would do anything for her, and the chemistry between them was electric. Elena wasn't ready to let go of Stefan, because he was great to her, and she didn't want to hurt the guy that saved her life, but Caroline knew her friend well enough to know that Elena should really be with Damon.

_This is different_, Caroline thought to herself. Klaus isn't Damon, I'm not Elena, Tyler isn't Stefan. Wasn't. Tyler is dead. She reminded herself that Klaus was a whole other level of evil. Wasn't he? He would have killed her in the sacrifice without blinking, he made Tyler bite her, he tricked her into thinking he was her dead boyfriend. He was way worse than Damon.

Caroline remembered Elena pulling on her shirt in the bathroom at that party a few years ago, pointing out the bite marks on her back. Damon had bit her, drank her blood, he would have killed her that night if Stefan hadn't slipped vervain in her drink. The sex between them hadn't been entirely consensual, considering he was compelling her most of the time they were together. Maybe Klaus wasn't any worse than Damon, but that didn't mean she was going to fall in love with him or anything like that.

A figure stepped out of the woods into the backyard. Klaus. She hated how now she looked at what used to be Tyler and only saw him. Now every memory of her dead boyfriend would be tainted by the original hybrid walking around in his skin. What was he holding? Flowers? _Ugh, take a hint_.

She noticed his mouth moving. Was he practicing some kind of speech? He stopped and started a few times, but his voice was low.

"If you'll just give me a chance. _No. too desperate. You're the original hybrid, don't grovel_. Caroline, allow me to explain myself. I only lied to you because I didn't want to hurt you. _No_. I'm not sorry about anything that happened this week, because now you know we're good together, and just because you're too afraid to admit it doesn't mean I ..._ No, she'll really hate that_. Can't you just shoot me a few more times and forgive me? _No_. Caroline, I've come to you to ask your forgiveness and I'm willing to listen to whatever terms you might place on said forgiveness. _No, too formal, she'll hate it_."

He threw the flowers across the yard and kept pacing around. After a minute he stopped around and picked them back up, flicking blades of grass and dirt out of them.

She wanted to cause him pain. She wished she had taken one of those guns with her so she could shoot him again. She imagined what it would be like to cut each of him limbs off and feed them to wild animals. But at the same time, she was exhausted. She was tired of fighting him and running from him. He walked around to the front porch as she paced around inside, trying to figure out what to do.

When he opened the front door she was standing right in front of him, shooting him a stern look.

"What do you want, Klaus?" she said, saying his name as if it was a terrible disease.

"I, um. When did you know it was me? I mean, how did you know I was the one in Tyler's body?"

"No one else would be shitty enough to trick me into having sex with them by pretending to be my dead boyfriend."

He looked down at the flowers in his hand, and then back up at her. "I'm sorry" he said.

"No you're not. I heard you in the back yard."

Anger flashed in front of his eyes, and his voice changed to sharp little words, just like the night she confronted him in front of the painting. "I didn't intend for you to hear that"

"Well I didn't _intend_ for you to be in my vagina" She shot back, mimicking his vocal patterns.

"Fine!" He shouted. "The truth is, I'm sorry I hurt you, I shouldn't have kept up the lie as long as I did. But I'm not sorry it happened. I've tried talking to you before. I told you how I felt. But you refused to see me as anything but a monster. I've spent centuries telling myself love was a weakness I would never allow myself to succumb to, and then suddenly there you are, and I care about you more than anyone I've met in the thousand years since I turned, and it changes everything."

Caroline just stood there. It felt surreal. People don't make grand speeches and profess their love like this in real life, she thought.

He continued "The day I gave you my blood, something changed. I realized I've been waiting this whole time for you to show up. And I hated it. It made me weak to care, and I distracted myself with other things, like keeping myself and my family alive, and trying to control what was going on. But I kept slipping up and letting you see that I cared for you. And then you scoffed at it, every time. Do you have any idea how frustrating it is? You were too stubborn to give me a chance."

"I wasn't too stubborn, I was in love with someone else! How do you not understand that?" Caroline yelled at him. She moved forward to shove him hard in the chest, but he didn't budge. "You don't get to sweep in and tell people how to feel. Do you think you're the only person who ever got rejected? That no one else has ever told someone how they felt and got shut down? It's happened to me more times than I can count, but I didn't manipulate any of those people into being with me._ I respected their wishes and moved on. Because thats the decent thing to do_." She shoved him again. This time he caught her wrists and held on tightly to them. the flowers he was holding scattered at their feet.

"I'm not moving on" he said.

"Let. Go. Of. Me." she spit out. She stepped back past the front door and slammed it in his face. "Just stay out there and leave me alone"

"Fine" he shouted "I'll respect your wishes because that's the decent thing to do"

"Ugh" she stomped her way back to the bedroom and pulled the blankets over her head.

* * *

Bonnie pulled up and started unloading bags of food and blood from her car when she noticed Klaus walking around the yard. She walked over and offered him a blood bag. He opened it with his teeth and took a long sip.

"What're you doing out here?"

"She kicked me out."

"She's not human, you can just walk in the house if you want to."

"Yeah, I was just trying to give her what she wanted."

"What did you do?"

He shot her a look and considered telling her to mind her own business, but this was the witch who was going to give him his body back.

"Klaus. What happened? You did tell her the truth, right?"

"She figured it out before I got the chance. I tried to eat a strawberry the other day and-"

"You waited that long? Are you insane? What were you thinking!"

"It got... complicated."

"I'm gonna go in and talk to her, just wait out here while I do damage control." Bonnie said, and patted him on the shoulder as she left. A flash of images hit her, all involving him and Caroline. It was more than she was able to take in at once, and she started to walk away from him and she processed what she just saw.

"Bonnie? What was that?"

"Just stay here and think of a way to fix this, ok?"

* * *

Bonnie opened the door and called for Caroline. When there was no answer she searched until she found her curled up in bed, eyes puffy from crying and blood bags littered all over the floor.

"Bonnie?"

"Hey Care, I'm so so sorry. I thought he would tell you right away. I wanted to let him explain it himself."

"Why didn't you warn me?"

"I tried. I just. This was the safest place for you, and I knew if I told you, you wouldn't go. I really thought he would tell you right away."

"Well he didn't" Caroline sniffed.

"Care... what happened?"

Caroline told her the whole story. Bonnie sat and listened and apologized over and over. Caroline wasn't mad at her anymore. She was just grateful to have her friend there with her after being alone with Klaus all week.

"And can you believe he keeps saying he loves me? Like what's his game? I don't get it, Its like some twisted thing where he probably wants me to say it back so he can prove that he's so alpha that he can make people feel whatever way he wants to feel, ugh."

Bonnie told her about the conversation with the truth serum. ""He really does love you. I don't understand why, and I don't think he really knows how to love someone, but what he says he's feeling, it's real."

"I don't love him."

"Do you like him?"

"No! He's Klaus! And, hello, did you not just listen to everything that happened this week?

Bonnie took a deep breath. "Care, remember when we talked about Elena and Damon? The whole Epic love thing?" Caroline nodded, and Bonnie continued "I'm pretty sure that Damon is Elena's great love story, even if it hasn't happened yet. And you agree, right?" Caroline nodded again. "Ok, well, I really don't like Damon. Like, really really don't like him. Sometimes I hate him for what he's done. What he's done to my family, to you. But I can't deny that Elena and him are just supposed to be together. They're a perfect fit."

Caroline nodded thoughtfully, and Bonnie continued. "Ok, then there's you. You've had some good boyfriends and some bad ones. Tyler was a really good one, and I can't imagine how much it hurts to have him taken away. But Caroline, that was just an early chapter in this crazy long life you're going to have. And while he was a good love, he wasn't your epic love. You're too much for Mystic Falls. You've always talked about wanting to get out and see the world. When Matt and Stefan picked Elena over you, you talked about how you were never the girl the guys you like picked. You told me once you always felt like the supporting character in someone else's story. I think this is it. This is your story, this is the guy who everyone thought was incapable of love, and than he saw you. You'll always be the one with him, and you'll go on adventures and see the world, and you'll be safer with him than you would be with anyone else. I think he's your epic love."

"But he's Klaus." Caroline said.

"I know. It's weird how these things work. I'm dating my mom's adopted son. Life gets messy."

"Jamie's a normal person. And he's hot. You hate Klaus. He's super-villain level evil."

"I don't like him at all. But I've got that witchy thing, and when I get those little witch vision things, I see that he would be so good for you. And just like I learned to deal with Damon, I think I can learn to deal with him."

"But he's _Klaus_. He's supposed to be the bad guy of this story."

"I guess your love story is more Beauty and the Beast than Cinderella. I'm not saying he's perfect. He needs a lot of work. But if you think there's a chance you might have feelings for him, it could be worth it."

"I've thought about it, but I've never said it out loud. Everyone would hate me, and I don't want to lose the people I love." Caroline said, fresh tears welling up. Bonnie started to cry when she saw her friend crying.

"I promise, whatever you decide on this, I'll support it, and I won't hate you. Now I'm going to ask you again, and I want you to be honest with yourself. Do you love Klaus?"

"No." Caroline responded.

"Do you like him?"

Caroline looked afraid. "I think so. I don't know why. I feel so stupid, I know I shouldn't, after everything he's done. But I feel something."

Bonnie hugged her. "Ok. I love you. It's ok."

"This isn't ok, Bonnie! This is a disaster!"

"It's going to be ok. Listen. His body is going to be ready in four days. Take those four days to get to know him here, and figure out how you feel. Then I'll bring you both to where the body is and switch him into it. You can see how he acts once he gets it back, and you can see if you still feel attracted to him when he looks like Klaus instead of Tyler. You don't have to make any big announcements or tell anyone how you feel. Just try and figure it out for yourself, ok?"

Bonnie hugged her and stood up. Caroline wiped her tears and sat up taller. She watched her friend walk out. Another four days in isolation loomed ahead of her.

* * *

Bonnie found Klaus sorting through stacks of wood in the shed in the back yard. He heard he coming and turned to greet her, eyes expectant but wary.

"What did she say?"

"I talked to her, and you need to know that you're walking on very thin ice, but there is a chance."

He smiled.

"I'm serious Klaus, she's willing to give you a chance, but that doesn't erase everything you've done. You have to be honest with her and you have to pay attention to what she wants and needs. You can't force or trick her into loving you."

"What did you say to her?"

"I told her the truth. You do love her, even if you don't know the first thing about how to love someone. What you pulled this week, that was a really terrible thing to do, but she's the type of person who can forgive things. She accepts people for who they are and she's still mad, but I think she'll be able to forgive you. I don't like you, but I think you might be right for her. But only if you really try to be the person who deserves to be loved by her." Bonnie said. She left out all the epic love stuff. Some things just have to stay private.

He looked at her, incredulous and almost sad. "So this is what it feels like."

"This is what _what_ feels like?"

"To owe someone so much."

"You already owed me your life." Bonnie said.

"And now you've given me a chance at a life I never dared dream of."

Bonnie felt awkward being around Klaus when he was like that. Every once in a while he said or did something that was so old school Europe. Who says stuff like that? She thought about giving him a hug, but it seemed too personal.

"There's one more thing. Your body will be ready a lot earlier than we expected. In four days I'll pick you and Caroline up and bring you to it. After that, you won't need to hide anymore if you don't want to. You'll have your life back."

"And Caroline? Where will she go?"

"Thats for her to decide."


	6. Chapter 6

He walked into the house with hesitation. Everything he did had to be perfect. One little mistake could ruin everything. It hadn't bothered him before, how isolated they were. He had used it to his advantage. But now it made him crazy. He couldn't go out and buy her anything or take her anywhere, all he had to work with was what was in that house.

"Caroline" he called from the foyer "I'm coming in." when he didn't hear anything he continued further into the house. He peeked into the bedroom, but she wasn't there. He walked up the stairs and found her in the upstairs bathroom, sitting next to the sink and fixing her makeup.

"Oh. Hi." she said, and put down the tube of lip gloss. Her tone was guarded, but not angry.

"Hi. I was wondering, could we talk?"

She nodded and they walked to the empty room across the hall, and sat on the floor. She looked to him, expecting him to start the conversation.

"I suppose I still owe you an apology. I'm sorry."

She gave him a strange look. It was so weird to see the most arrogant selfish vampire she's ever met (And she knew Damon) look apologetic. "I forgive you. But don't you ever do anything like that again."

"You forgive me? Just like that?" he was amazed.

"Consider it a one time thing."

He nodded. "I suppose based on our separate discussions with Bonnie you are aware of how I feel about you. Under better circumstances I would be asking your permission to take you out. However, even if we weren't trapped in this shack, I fear that still might be too much to ask of you, given our history. So, I instead ask you if perhaps you might agree to spending these next four days in my company. I would like to get to know you better, and I would like you to be able to get to know me."

Caroline was at a loss for words. The strangeness of the situation never faded away, she wasn't sure this was something that could ever feel normal.

"Ok. I can do that. but just because I _did stuff _with you when I thought you were Tyler doesn't mean I'm going to _do stuff_ with you now." She was too embarrassed to spell out what she meant by 'stuff' and prayed he wouldn't ask her to elaborate.

"I wouldn't dream of it, love"

"And do you have to call me 'love'?" She felt so strange with his little pet names.

"My apologies, sweetheart." He said, and looked up with a grin, knowing that name would irk her just as much. She swatted at him lightly, and they both laughed. They were laughing already. _Could it really be this easy?_, she wondered.

He stood up. "I'm going to teach you how to dance" he said, and offered her his hand.

"I already know how to dance. The whole Miss Mystic Falls thing."

"I'm going to teach you a different dance."

She hesitantly got up. His hands were intertwined in hers, and soon he was teaching her the tango and telling her stories of his time in South America. He was humming the music to her and teaching her the steps and they were gliding across the empty room. Once she got the hang of it he picked a different dance, and taught it to her while describing the time and place it was from so vividly she felt like she was there. They spent hours moving across the wood floor of the empty room, but to her it was like they had traveled around the world.

They went downstairs and grabbed some blood bags to sip on.

"It's not fair, you know. You can teach me all this cool stuff because you've been all over the world and you've been alive forever. But what can I teach you?"

"I think there's a lot I can learn from you, actually" he said softly.

She rolled her eyes at him. He silently cursed himself. _Why do I always have to say these things_, he thought.

"Teach me something about how you had fun as a child." he offered

"What?"

"Well, when I was a human, life was very different. Everything had to be practical, we didn't do things for fun, unless it was to learn a skill."

"You mean you didn't play?" She was astonished. But she had heard all about Mikael and Ester and could imagine how difficult life could be with them for parents.

"My brothers and I sometimes chased each other, or used sticks as swords, but Mikael hated us using energy on play that could be used for practical things like chores. We didn't have, you call them toys?"

Caroline thought for a minute. Then she smiled. "I can teach you how to be a kid." She walked around the house trying to think of things she did when she was younger. "Oh, I've got it! A blanket fort."

"Whats that?" he looked perplexed.

She had him drag the chairs and tables into the bedroom and they got to work draping all the blankets and pillows around the room to create a network of tents.

"What's the purpose of all this?" He asked.

"Its fun. And when you're a kid, its like creating your own safe place where no one can bother you. You can pretend you're anywhere. When my parents used to fight I would make a fort in my room and pretend I was a princess in a castle." She pulled the mattress under the fort they had created and laid on it. She motioned for him to join her.

"This is nice" he said, looking up at the soft glow of light coming through the blankets draped over them.

* * *

Over the next few days, they found new ways to entertain each other, figuring the gaps in what each of them knew that the other didn't. He taught her how to make a fire without matches and insult someone in perfect French, and she taught him to blow bubbles and make shadow puppets. She talked about her dad and how much she missed him, and he talked about his brother Henrik. Each night they slept next to each other on the mattress. She told herself it was because there was only one soft thing to sleep on in the whole house, but she actually liked feeling him next to her. After all of the times she had been kidnapped and attacked over the last few years, it was hard to fall asleep sometimes. It was a little easier when she knew someone was right there who would tear apart anyone who tried to come near her.

On the last night before Bonnie would come back, he noticed Caroline acting odd. She seemed sad and she couldn't look at him. He tried to think of things to make her happy, offering to dance again, or cook something together, or teach her how to draw, but she just brushed everything off.

"Caroline, whats wrong?"

She wanted to lie and say nothing was wrong, but they were past that. She felt like she had to share her feeling seven if they were embarrassing.

"I..I'm just sad that this is going to be all over tomorrow."

He knew he would be switching into his own body the next day "You mean I won't look like Tyler anymore." he said. He had felt like there was something growing between them, but maybe it wasn't really him she was enjoying spending time with. Maybe she just wanted to spend a few more days looking at Tyler.

"No" she said, confused. "I... I mean, I loved Tyler and I know he's dead, but it will be really hard for me to see his lifeless body tomorrow when you switch out of it. That's going to be really difficult. But thats not what I'm talking about."

"Then what are you talking about?" he was confused.

"Everything is going to change once you're you again. You won't have to hide once you have your body back. You'll go on a rampage against the people who stopped your heart, those people are my friends. And you'll go to your family, and you'll all go be originals together somewhere, doing whatever sinister stuff originals do, and I'm finally starting to get used to you. I like waking up next to you and spending the whole day with you, and that's all over tomorrow."

He pulled her into a hug. She was right, things would be different starting the next day. He did want to tear apart the Salvatore brothers for stopping his heart. And he wanted to see his family. But when he pictured all those things he pictured her by his side. He hadn't stopped to think that she might not want to be with him while he put the fear of god into Stefan Salvatore or that she might not want to go with him to reunite with his siblings.

"I.. yes. Things will be different, I suppose. We won't have to stay trapped in this house, and we can be around other people. But I still want to be with you."

"I can't be with you if you're trying to kill all my friends."

"Can I at least scare them a bit?" he suggested.

She shot him a look.

"Caroline! They ripped open my chest and stopped my heart!"

"Yeah, but that was only because you almost killed Elena, and you were acting insane! And they never tried to kill you, because we all would die too. They just wanted you to stop trying to kill people they care about."

"Can I please just rattle the Salvatore brothers a little? I don't really want to kill them, I just want to scare them." He was going to do it with her permission or not, but it would be a lot easier for him if he could do it without having to apologize to her after.

She sighed. "We'll deal with that part later."

"Ok" he said "So then the only problem is you don't want to spend time with my family."

"I didn't say that! I didn't think I would be invited for that part. Although I'm sure they would hate me."

"Nonsense. I'll make sure they love you as much as I do. Kol is already enamored with you, a little too much for my liking actually, and Elijah will like you very much as well. He's been trying to tame me for centuries, and you've managed to do more in a few days than he's done in a lifetime."

"Rebecca hates me"

"Rebecca envies you. You have friends while she has none, and you used to date that human Matt, who she's had her eye on for some time."

She smiled.

"See, there. It's all settled. You have nothing to be sad about, sweetheart. I'll look different, better I think, but I'll still love you."

She sat next to him for a minute, then said what had been running through her mind for the last few days. She had said all the other embarrassing stuff, why not add this to the pile?

"You haven't tried to kiss me or anything."

He looked down. "I didn't think you wanted me to." his eyes met hers "Do you want me to?"

"I just.. I thought you would."

"I didn't want to do anything to make you uncomfortable after... what happened before. I also thought maybe it was best to wait at this point, considering I'll be me again tomorrow. That way everything is just you and me, not you and me in someone else's body."

She smiled at him. He seemed so different than the person she thought he was.

* * *

Everything was packed up when they heard the tires crunching on the dirt path the next day. They were sitting on the porch with their bags ready to go. Abby was with Bonnie this time.

"We're going straight to the location, and I wanted Abby to be there to guide me through the spell" Bonnie explained. She was relieved to see Klaus and Caroline seeming to get along, but she wondered if she would find it creepy to see them holding hands when he looked like himself again.

They traveled for an hour at least, through areas that were completely unfamiliar to Caroline. Bonnie Explained that they kept the body somewhere that no one they knew had been to, and that they had spelled the house to protect it from trespassers.

They pulled into a friendly looking suburban home in the middle of a picture perfect neighborhood. Caroline was expecting an abandoned haunted looking place in the middle of nowhere, but maybe that was exactly what anyone looking for Klaus's body would be searching for. there was another car in the driveway, a nondescript black sedan with dark tinted windows. Abby pulled Klaus aside as Caroline and Bonnie walked into the house.

"I hope after we do this you remember what my daughter has done for you." she said.

He nodded solemnly "I intend to reward your daughter greatly for what she has done for me. I wish no harm for either of you." he eyed her suspiciously "And I might remind you that you are a descendent of my bloodline, so you should't attempt any harm to me either."

She nodded in agreement, fully creeped out by being around the original. She pointed towards the black car. "You'll be leaving in that when the spell is complete. The keys are in it already. I don't care to know where you're going. Bonnie and I will be leaving in the car we came in, and I don't see how your path and mine will ever need to cross again."

He thought to himself how he liked the daughter much better than the mother.

Bonnie suggested to Caroline that she say goodbye before the spell started and stay out of the room until it was over. She didn't need to be there to see Tyler's body fall to the floor and turn grey. She asked her if she'd rather see him one last time after, to say goodbye, but Caroline said she preferred to look at him for the last time when he still looked alive. Bonnie offered to find a respectful way to bury him, and Caroline thanked her.

Klaus and Abby walked in the door.

"Ok, were going down to the basement now. Caroline, I think you should go upstairs. Turn on the shower or something If you can still hear us up there, ok?"

Caroline nodded. She walked over to Klaus, and looked at Tyler's body for the last time. She put her hands on his face and took a moment to remember how he looked, then she walked up the stairs as they walked down.

* * *

Klaus found himself face to face with himself, and it was not pretty. He was all petrified and grey, and smelled awful. The outfit he had been wearing was crusted with goo and his chest was covered in scabs. He noticed a cooler full of blood bags on a table in the room. Abby walked over to them and started pouring them out into several large glasses. He supposed he would be needing them once he was switched. He was also thankful to notice a man's t shirt and jeans hanging in the bathroom off to the side of the basement.

"You're pretty gross" Bonnie said, "But once we get you transferred back in, that should be easy to fix up. Everything should wash off fine."

Abby set things up while Bonnie looked over her books. Abby wasn't a witch anymore, but Bonnie knew better than to be in a room with a hungry vampire all by herself. She needed her there in case Klaus lunged for her instead of the blood bags once he transferred.

He was sitting in a chair while Bonnie chanted words in a dead language, and the air in the room began to change. Strong magic always did that. She reached out and grabbed him with one hand and grabbed his lifeless body with the other and he felt a pull in his spine, like he was being dragged out of the chair from the inside out. Everything was spinning, he lost his balance, the chair fell over, and he heard another thud as something else fell to the ground after the chair. But he wasn't sitting anymore. He was laying on a table. And he was thirsty. So thirsty.

Abby was standing in front of Bonnie, and for a second he wanted to push her aside and drain the human. He felt so week, and could hear her pulse from where he was laying, and he felt like if he didn't drink immediately he would die. Someone pushed a glass to his face and he drained it without lifting his chin. He found the strength to prop himself up and another glass was in his face. He drained that one and three more after it before he felt ok. His legs were shaky as he walked across the room, but Bonnie and Abby were eying him as if they were afraid.

Bonnie cautiously walked up to him and examined his chest. The hole that had scabbed over was healed completely. She seemed satisfied with her work but anxious to get out of there. they exchanged goodbyes and made soft plans to meet up soon so he could give her what he promised her. Abby wrapped a sheet around the body on the floor and carried it away. He wondered what she was planning on doing with it. Bonnie said a final goodbye, then excused herself to go upstairs and ask Caroline if she wanted to leave with them or stay with him.

He stepped into the shower and let all the grime wash off. He stayed in a little longer than necessary, worried about if she would be there or not when he got out. When he stepped out of the shower he wiped the steam off the bathroom mirror and looked at himself for the first time in weeks. He got dressed and drank another blood bag before walking up the first flight of stairs. He looked outside and saw that Bonnie's car was gone. This was the moment of truth. He looked up the stairs to the top floor. If Caroline only agreed to be spend those last few days with him because she wanted more time with Tyler, than he would surely know it now. If her fear or hate of him still overpowered any positive feeling she had, she would have gotten in the car with Bonnie. If she stayed behind with him when she didn't have to, then there was a chance.

* * *

He walked up the stairs and looked around the hallway. He didn't see her and it made him nervous. Did she really leave? He peaked it to each room and hoped to see her, but she wasn't there. Finally he reached the last door and opened it. She was there. Caroline was sitting on a bed, her hair wet, her knees curled in front of her as she looked out the window. She had took the time when the spell was going on to take a shower and clear her head. She wanted to block out any possibility of hearing it, because she didn't want to imagine what was going on it that room. It felt good to feel hot water washing down on her after almost two weeks of cold baths.

When she heard the door open she snapped forward to look at the figure in the doorway.

If she had a heartbeat it would be racing. When she looked over and saw him standing in the doorway, she was overcome with emotion. She felt sadness that Tyler was completely gone now, she felt relief that everything had gone well and Klaus was ok, she had nervous butterflies in her stomach when she saw how he was looking at her. But she wasn't expecting fear. She knew him now and she wasn't afraid anymore. But still, it was the first time she saw him in his own body since she had decided not to hate him anymore. And she was afraid, even though she tried to rationalize with herself that this was the same person she danced with in the cabin, who took a beating from her without trying to fight back, she had fallen asleep next to him feeling safer than she ever had in her life. So why did a different body change it? Why couldn't she stop shaking with fear?

He was so glad she was there. He wanted to run to her and kiss her. He wanted to do more than just kiss her, but a kiss would be a nice start. He smiled and started to walk towards her, but he was struck by how terrified she looked. Why was she afraid?

He reached out to wrap her in a hug, but the second his hand grazed her arm she flinched. She was shaking. He hadn't seen her this spooked since the day Alaric attacked her.

He cautiously sat down on the bed next to her, letting his legs hang off the side. He could see her posture stiffen up, like a cat that had been cornered.

"Caroline, It's ok, don't be afraid." he carefully picked up one of her hands, and laced his fingers through hers, just like how their hands always found each other when they fell asleep together. "You're safe"

Her expression softened and he could feel her relax. She looked cautiously into his eyes for a moment and unlaced her fingers from his.

She stood up and he thought she was going to walk out, but instead she walked in front of him and ran her hand through his damp hair. He leaned into her hand as she traced her fingers down the side of his face. She took a step closer, and bent down to kiss him. For a second he was stunned by the feeling of her lips on his, the first time he was feeling it in his own body and it was even better than what he had experienced while pretending to be Tyler. Because she knew who he was, and she was still Kissing him.

Quickly, he responded, kissing her back. He needed her closer so he looped his arms around her back and pulled. She leaned in to him and he needed more. A greed had taken over him the second they started kissing, the more he had of her the more he wanted. His arms wandered down to the back of her thighs and he pulled them towards him, begging her to come closer. She obliged, pulling a knee up to the bed and sliding forward, pulling up the other one so she was straddling his lap. He pulled her even tighter against himself once she was there and to his thrill he could feel her smiling into their kiss as he did it. Her hands were in his hair, on his chest, running down his back. He slipped a hand under her shirt and ran his fingers up and down her spine. It made her shiver and giggle, which thrilled him. He wanted to see if she would let him go further, but she broke away from the kiss, resting her forehead against his.

"I think we should go."

"Go where?" he murmured as he placed light kisses along her neck.

"Go show your family that you're still alive." she said. He stopped what he was doing to give her a look that was both surprised and impressed.

"You'll come with me?"

She nodded that she would, and he smiled.

"Perfect." he said, and they were out the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Elijah had never been truly shocked by anything in his thousand years as a vampire. The figure on the other side of his front door, however, had him completely stunned.

"It can't be possible. Becca saw you die." he stammered out, scrunching his brow.

"Don't look so disappointed, brother. Aren't you going to invite us in?"

Elijah stepped aside and made a motion for them to enter. Caroline felt so awkward standing there with the two of them. Elijah was staring at Klaus, trying to figure him out, perhaps not entirely convinced it was his actual brother. He whispered something in Klaus's ear, and Klaus nodded and whispered back. It must have been some secret they shared, that only the two of them knew, because after, Elijah looked more convinced, if not happier.

"Forgive me, I've been so rude not to greet you, Elijah Mikelson." He extended his hand, and she tried to shake it, but he pulled up her hand and kissed it instead. Klaus rolled his eyes at his brother's show of ancient formality.

"Caroline Forbes." she tried to smile, but she could tell it looked fake. Why was this so painfully awkward? She shifted from one foot to the other.

"Elijah, the others?"

"Kol is in Madrid, but Becca is here with me. It seems that with you gone, I have become the new favorite brother."

"Well, lucky for you I'm back. I think I'll go greet the little pest. Would you be so kind as to entertain Caroline?"

* * *

"Becca" he called out, walking down the upstairs hallway. He heard a glass break and she was suddenly in front of him.

"Nik! i can't believe it! You're dead! I saw you die!" she began crying as she hugged him.

He slammed her into the wall, sending a painting skidding down the hall. "I know what you did, Becca. How could you be so stupid, I needed the girl. Her blood makes hybrids."

"You were dead, I was sure of it. There was no need.."

"I'm clearly not dead." A thought flashed through his mind and he loosened his grip on her. She slid away and made a show of rubbing her arms. "Where are the bags?"

"What bags?"

"The blood bags."

"Do I look like I drink from a bag?" she sneered.

"Elena's blood. I was draining her, there were at least five bags by the time they took her and..." He didn't want to finish the thought, it was admitting that the Salvatore brothers had won a round against him. "The bags. They were in the living room next to the desk, where are they?"

"There were no bags when I got back here."

"Did Elijah arrive before you? Kol?"

"No I was first."

"If you're lying Becca.."

"Why would I lie, you were dead until five seconds ago, I wanted to kill that girl to avenge you. I had no idea she would turn."

"We need to find those bags. The Salvatores must have them."

"You don't need hybrids, Nik! You have us!"

"I'm going to get those bags. And you're going to help. Now come downstairs, I have company."

"Company?" she asked, incredulous, but he was already gone.

* * *

"You danced with my brother at the ball."

"Yes."

"But you didn't wish to." it wasn't a question.

"I didn't. But he can be very persistent." That and she wanted to make sure they didn't kill Elena. And she was sick of wallowing at home and a pretty dress appeared at her doorstep.

"And you were part of the plot with our dear mother to have our whole family killed" It was a statement, not an accusation. Everything about Elijah was calm and collected, he was the ice to his brother's fire.

"Actually, I didn't know about that at the time, although I probably would have joined in if I knew. I didn't have any reason not to at the time." she admitted.

"But not now, you and your friends now know that staking one of us will kill the whole bloodline. And there's no way to tell for sure which of us is responsible for you."

She nodded in agreement.

"You're one of those vampires who drinks vervain. He didn't compel you to join him tonight."

"No, he didn't"

Elijah looked at her, amused. "What is he holding over you? How did he get you to come here? My brother can be so rude, always threatening to kill people you love if things don't go his way."

"He didn't. We're... friends." she said weakly.

The smile on his face dropped and he gave her a look that was full of pity. "You're so young. It would be a shame for your life to be cut short because you trusted the wrong man."

She was stunned. How could his own brother say something like that? Was Elijah trying to manipulate her?

"Elijah, I see you're getting aquatinted with my lovely date." Klaus walked in and smiled at them. He sat next to Caroline and wrapped his arms around her as he kissed the top of her head "Not too well acquainted, I hope; I don't plan on sharing her."

Elijah shot Caroline a warning look and she felt her stomach twist in knots. She leaned into Klaus and looked up at him, trying so hard to see the person she spent the last few days playing games and laughing with, but he looked so cold staring daggers at his brother.

"Well I'm going to order chinese food. Do you think one delivery boy would be enough for us to share, or should I order a pizza too?" Rebecca said as she walked into the room. When she saw that the guest was Caroline, she rolled her eyes.

"You can't keep draining delivery boys, Becca. This town is too small for such conspicuous behavior" Elijah reprimanded.

"Nik was more fun" she pouted at him. "And besides, I only killed the one and that was an accident. The rest I just compelled to forget and sent on their way." She started walking towards the kitchen.

Elijah sighed. "Just get me the thing with the noodles and the peanuts" he shouted towards her.

Klaus smiled "You're too soft on her."

"At least I didn't stick her in a box for almost a century."

"Spend a few more years with her" Klaus challenged.

"I heard that" Rebecca shouted from the kitchen.

A half hour later the doorbell rang and Rebecca jumped up to get it. She was leading a young man in by the hand, and it was clear she had already compelled him. She sat the bag of food down on a table and bit into his neck and took a long drink. Then she wiped her mouth and brought the food over to the rest of them while the delivery boy obediently stood still.

"Well, who's next?"

Klaus motioned to Caroline "Ladies first" he offered.

"Oh, no. I don't drink from humans. Animals or blood bags for me."

"Come on Caroline, we won't let him die, and he won't remember a thing. No harm done."

She tried to convince herself that her mouth was watering because of the bag of food on the table.

"I just can't."

"It's no different than blood bags. He'll recover quickly and be good as new. Besides, Becca already bit him, it's not like you'd be doing any additional damage."

"I just can't."

"Very well then, I'm going to have a sip." he got up and took a drink from the young man.

She shot him an offended look, but she knew that most vampires lived this way. Killing attracted attention, but drinking a little and compelling wasn't so bad..."

She watched Klaus drink and felt envy. She wished she didn't have to live by the rules Stefan taught her. She wished she could just drink and not feel guilty. It looked so delicious. She had to close her eyes for a moment to keep her fangs from coming out.

Elijah shifted closer to her and whispered in her ear "It's ok if you want a little. I promise to pull you off him if he starts to get too week."

She hated herself for it, but she felt herself getting off the couch and slowly walking towards him. The smell was so intoxicating, and she swore she would just have a tiny sip. What could it hurt? He was already compelled and she would just use the same wound that was already there...

Klaus had finished drinking and was wiping the blood off his mouth with the back of his hand. She shot him an apologetic look as she inched closer. She felt so guilty and it was wrong, but she wanted it so much.

Klaus thought she was coming over to scold him for drinking directly from the source. Who was she kidding? She would have to be out of her mind to admonish a thousand year old vampire for acting like a vampire. Just because that musty claptrap Stefan Salvatore was an addict who couldn't control his bloodlust didn't mean he had to shame all the vampires in his town away from behaving naturally. He liked him so much better when he was a ripper. Cleaning up Stefan's messes was annoying, but at least he was fun. Wait... what was she doing? Why did she look like she was about to... His mouth dropped when he saw the veins begin to pulse under her eyes and her fangs extend. He stood there, mouth agape, watching her drink. She looked powerful and sexy. He had always found her attractive, but watching her feed like that made him want to rip all her clothes off and have his way with her right there.

The delivery boy swayed a little bit and Elijah shot up and gently pulled Caroline off him.

"There you go, little one, thats enough" he said as pulled her away. She was reminded of a distant memory of her father, pulling her off the ground after she crashed her bike. Once she took a step back, he lead the boy to a chair and muttered something about going in the kitchen for some iron pills and a glass of orange juice for him.

Caroline felt embarrassed that she didn't stop herself first. She had swore she would just have a little sip. She looked over at the dazed boy and remembered being a human blood bag for Damon, and she felt shame. She was about to wipe the blood of her face, but before she could, Klaus was kissing her.

Rebecca made a retching noise and stomped out the room.

She tasted blood on his lips and on hers, and he licked the blood off her face and she kissed him back, swirling her tongue in his mouth to taste the remnants of blood. It was so primal, and she had never felt more like a vampire. For just that one minute, she allowed herself to not feel bad. Then she heard footsteps coming back into the room and she pulled away. She started to turn around to see who was walking though the room, but he tipped her chin so she was facing him. He didn't say anything, he just stared at her with an intensity that made her feel faint and warm all over. It was as addicting as the blood, to be looked at that way. His stare was full of desire, and it made her feel beautiful and powerful to be able to captivate someone who had seen the whole world.

Elijah was handing the boy some vitamins and a glass of orange juice, and he was setting some plates out so they could dig into the food. He was too polite to acknowledge the moment he had surely witnessed.

Rebecca followed him in, but she was carrying a purse and keys, and announced that she had lost her appetite and was going out.

"And don't worry about me blabbing to the locals that you've come back. I'm sure you'll want to pay them a visit soon enough." she said, slamming the door behind her.

Caroline considered visiting the Salvatores before Klaus got a chance. She was worried what he would do about them, and maybe she could warn them.

The three of them chatted amiably as they ate the food, and Elijah even fixed a plate for the delivery boy, to make sure he got his strength up for his drive back to work.

After the boy finished his food Elijah compelled him to forget, and told him that he had been away from work so long because a cat ran out of the house when he was delivering one of the meals on his route and he had helped his customer get their pet out of the tree.

When the boy was gone Klaus told his brother how much he loved his little stories and reminisced about some of the clever ones he's told people he compelled over the years.

Caroline looked at Elijah. "I'm so sorry I didn't stop myself in time. I'm so embarrassed."

"Don't be, little one. That's why its best to have another vampire around. It's not in your nature to stop once you start drinking, but you'll learn to control it more as they years go on." Did every member of this family have a stupid nickname for her?

Damon does this all the time, she thought. He drinks from people and they live and its fine. Just because Stefan and Elena would judge me doesn't mean its wrong. I'm my own person and I can do what I want.

Elijah looked down at his phone and stifled a laugh. "It seems our darling sister is having boy trouble over at the Grill."

Klaus smiled. "She actually admitted to having troubles?"

"No, it's not her whose texting me. Miss. Salvatore is there, she's filling me in on what's going on."

"Miss Salvatore?" Caroline asked

Klaus smiled. "His little joke, thats what he calls your friend Elena."

"Which Salvatore is he referring to?" she asked

"Exactly." Klaus replied.

"Elena is not texting Elijah" she said, incredulous. What had happened in the two weeks since she was gone?

"We've always been on slightly more cordial terms than others assumed, but since little Miss Salvatore has become a vampire, we've been in contact more frequently. Out of all the vampires in this town she's the most interested in keeping peace with us, and she's agreed to help me give Katherine the shock of her life the next time that she-devil rolls into town."

Caroline was in shock. Were Elijah and Elena hooking up? It was so bizarre. "You're not.." she started.

"Oh, not at all" he replied. "My friendship with Elena is strictly platonic. I've always respected how loyal she was as a human and I've been interested in watching her grow as a vampire. Besides, I'm not a Salvatore."

"This is so strange" Caroline said.

"Imagine how the two of you must seem to others" Elijah pointed out. She had to agree it was quite the opposite of what anyone would expect.

"Well, I'm off to make sure Rebecca doesn't throw a temper tantrum that kills anyone." He shot them a funny look, Caroline hadn't seen the pointed look that Klaus was shooting back at his brother. "And, oh fine. I suppose Rebecca and I might want to go exploring tonight, so don't expect us back before morning."

Caroline turned to Klaus. "What was that all about?"

"He was just being a good brother." he was beaming.

"Oh no, I know whats going on here." she said.

"Why I don't know what you're talking about." he feigned.

"You two were being super obvious. A sock on the door would have been more subtle."

"I'm certain I don't understand what you mean by that."

"You really think it's going to be that easy?" she challenged.

"I'm just happy to have some privacy with you, I would never dare think of anything else" he said with mock innocence. "I'm certain my siblings would have had plans to leave the house tonight even if I hadn't shown up."

"right." she laughed. "Well the least you can do is give me a tour of the house before you go trying anything."

* * *

She wanted a few moments to clear her head and decide if drinking from a human was going to be the only impulsive thing she did that night based strictly on desire. She wanted to pounce on him the second Elijah closed the door, but she held back. It wasn't the proper thing to do. You were supposed to go on dates first, see how you feel about him, make him work for it. but making him work for it felt like she was punishing herself more than him. She wanted him right here and now, but she was stalling a little bit to make it seem like she wasn't crazy in lust.

He was showing her around the kitchen.

"You told me you could cook anything I wanted"

"You're still hungry after you ate your weight in mu-shu pork, and almost drained the delivery boy dry?" he asked, incredulous.

She glared at him, making it clear it was a sore subject. "I didn't mean now. I'm going to make you cook for me tomorrow."

"What makes you think you can make me do anything?" he challenged.

"Because I can." she smiled, flipped her hair and did a flirty little walk out of the room.

* * *

He had shown her the pool, the gardens in the yard, the garage full of expensive European cars, a library, and was leading her upstairs to show her the rest.

"The room with all the big paintings is up here" she recalled

He smiled, remembering that night "You mean the room where you threw the bracelet I gave you back at me and gave me a heavy scolding?"

"You needed to hear it"

"I suppose I did. Although I do wish you had chosen that moment to return the other gift I had given you."

"You think I would have thrown the dress at you and marched through the party in my underwear?"

"I didn't say think, I said wish."

They were back in that room. She remembered how curious she was about him that night. She hated him and was repulsed by what he had done, but at the same time, he was so good looking, and he was looking at her. She remembered forcing herself to think of how creepy he was and convincing herself that he was probably just trying to kill her or something. Now, he was looking at her and she smiled at him. I can do whatever I want, she thought. I don't have to play by the rules my friends set out for me. I'm going to do what makes me happy.

"You were embarrassed about drinking from the boy earlier, why?"

She felt herself go red. "It's just. It's not what we do. I have human friends. I was human not too long ago. It feels so wrong. I don't want to be a monster."

"You're not a monster. You're powerful and beautiful."

"But he's a person, and I drank the blood right out of him."

"And he will be fine. He won't remember a thing. Drinking blood is how we survive. Don't feel guilty about doing what you need to stay alive."

She smiled weekly. Easy advice for someone who didn't care about who he hurt, but she would feel bad about letting down her friends, and her mother would be horrified.

"You know, Even Stefan can't survive on animal blood forever, it makes him weak. I won't let you get weak. I need you alive and strong so you can be with me forever. I don't think you living off blood bags is so great either. Stealing all those blood bags from the hospitals and blood banks, I wonder what happens to the people who need transfusions when theres a shortage?"

She glared at him. She hated when he made sense like that.

"I still feel bad about it. Because I remember what it was like to be a human and go through that. I mean, after i got my memories back later on. And... mostly because I don't want the people I care about to look at me like I'm some monster."

"do you care about me?"

"Well.. yes"

"I could watch you slaughter an entire elementary school and you would still not be a monster to me. You could never do anything to make me judge you or love you less."

"You're different. You can say that because you've probably done worse. The rest of them.."

"No, I can say that because you know I've done worse, and you still gave me a chance. You're going to have a long life as a vampire and occasionally you'll do things you're not proud of. And I'll be right there, loving you anyway."

She couldn't believe it. She was never the one, and now here he was, all proclamations of love and talk of having a future together. She was afraid if he kept talking like this she would start to get used to the idea of having a future with him, and that she would end up falling for him.

"Why is it that you went to Stefan to learn how to be a vampire? Damon was in town as well, and his way's a lot more fun. I can't imagine him teaching you to live off bags and bunnies."

She was surprised he didn't know. The most embarrassing thing about her short abusive relationship was that everyone knew. She wondered if Elena judged her for being friends with Damon after, or if Elena was too busy being in love with both Salvatore brothers to remember what the one did to her good friend not too long ago.

"You don't know? I became a vampire because Katherine killed me, but I had Damon's blood in me. I was in the hospital that night because of what he did. The others forced him to give me some blood when they found out how bad he left me. He tortured me when I was human. He was so angry that Stefan was with Elena he used me to make them feel jealous or something. He made me run his dirty errands and bit me and attacked me whenever he needed to let off some steam." She left out the part about how she was under compulsion every time the slept together other than the first. He really didn't need to know that too.

He looked horrified. "He did that to you? I'll kill him. Slowly. You can help, if you'd like."

She rolled her eyes. "You would have done worse. I was human. Don't pretend you would have been a saint to human me. I don't want him dead."

He looked confused. "I would never have guessed he had done something like that to you. You're friends with him. I see you joke with him and you spend time together."

"I was mad at first. Really mad. But it just didn't seem to matter after a while. He had grown up a bit, I had these new powers that I could use to defend myself, and I just didn't want to hold a grudge. I let it go."

"Just like you forgave me."

She nodded a yes.

He was looking at her with that intensity again.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm just glad you're here."

She fidgeted. "So, you were going to show me the views from all the different balconies?"

* * *

They walked through the halls, going into different rooms to stand on the balconies.

"And this room doesn't have a balcony, but it is set up as a guest room, If you'd like it. Of course you're more than welcome to stay in my room." He grinned devilishly.

"What makes you think I'm staying in this house at all? Maybe I'll find a room at Elena's or at the Salvatore house."

"Not a chance. There's too many people after you for me to let you sleep any further than down the hall. In fact, even that seems too far away. I insist you stay with me."

"You don't get to insist anything!" she said, and gave him a playful shove. "Let me see what this room looks like and I'll decide for myself."

He smiled and looped an arm around her waist as they walked down the hall.

"Here we are, love, let me show you around."

She looked around. It was all very fancy looking, red and gold with old fashioned couches and expensive looking little tables with glass bottles and parchment sitting on them. The huge four poster bed looked impossibly tall and plush, and she wondered what it would feel like to jump on it, but she turned her attention to the closet. The door was open so she wandered in, looking at all his clothes. He followed her over and looked anxious.

Klaus unlocked the door to the balcony, expecting Caroline to want to see that first, but she just started wandering around his room. He wanted her there, but he suddenly felt uncomfortable at the sight of her in his private space. His siblings weren't the type to spend time in each other's bedrooms when they had the whole house to spread out in. In fact, he didn't think anyone else had stepped foot in there since he had moved in. And now she was here, and she was judging everything and she would think it all was so stupid. NO! why did I leave the closet open, don't go in there. But it was too late. She was walking around in the huge closet and seeing everything. He noticed her bend down to look into the wooden crate he had thrown stacks of old books and stakes and silver weapons in. All things he collected in the hopes of killing Mikael, and he kept after his father's death just in case he should need them for someone else.

Then she saw the dresser in the corner. No. no no. There they were. The only photographs he kept, and he kept them here out of sight, so no one would ever know that he could be sentimental. There was one of his family standing together on the stairs, from the ball earlier that year. There was another of him and Rebecca in Victorian clothes. One of him and Kol laughing. One of him and Stefan sitting at a bar in the twenties. He remembered that moment fondly, Stefan throwing his arm around him and saying to the photographer "Take a picture of me and my brother" They were brothers, for a while. And right there with them was a small drawing of Caroline. He saw her trace her finger along the page. _No, don't look at it, it isn't that good, you're much prettier than the stupid drawing_. He was hoping she didn't understand the deeper meaning of the little circle of pictures hidden away in the closet, the circle he put a drawing of her in because he didn't have a picture. _These are the people I love_.

She looked up at him and he knew she understood.

Caroline walked across the closet to the doorway he was leaning in and kissed him softly. He kissed back, but she was already pulling away.

"Show me the balcony?"

He held her hand and they walked out on to the balcony. She leaned against the iron railing and looked out at the back yard. He stood close behind her and rested his chin on top of her head, wrapping his arms around her. She sighed and he pulled her tighter.

After a minute she twisted around so she could face him, and leaned back against the railing. He didn't wait to kiss her. As soon as his lips met hers, she pushed herself closer to him and brought her arms up to his shoulders, then slid a hand to the back of his neck and up through his hair. She was pressing him towards her, urging him closer. He kissed her with more force and pulled on her bottom lip with his teeth, being careful not to break the skin. She let out a soft moan as he did this, and pushed her hims towards him. Not to be outdone, Caroline slipped her tongue in his mouth and engaged his in a playful battle. Once she lured his tongue into her mouth she sucked on it, sending a charge straight down his body to his cock, which was already starting to strain against his pants.

He pulled her up so she was sitting on the railing and she wrapped her legs around him tightly. His arms were wrapped around her tight, but she still looked nervously behind her, as if she might fall. He toyed with her a little, dipping her back while he kissed down her neck and chest. She grabbed on to him tight and let out a little scream as he tipped her so she was leaning over the edge. She felt a rush but knew he wouldn't let her fall.

When he pulled her forward she locked her arms tighter around him and kissed him with ferocity. He pulled away from her to lavish some more attention to her neck and she whispered in his ear. "Inside. Now."

Without hesitation he scooped her up and used a foot to kick the door to the balcony closed behind them as he carried her across the room to the bed.

They were franticly pulling clothes off of each other as soon as they hit the soft fabric. She pulled his shirt off and started to kiss his chest, but as soon as her lips touched his skin he was pulling her shirt over her head and working on the zipper of her pants. She lunged for his in their little game to see who could get the other undressed first. But he never played games he couldn't win. He slid his hand into her unzipped jeans and started to rub her over the thin lace of her underwear. Her hands shook as she tried to continue undressing him, but she felt his finger slipping under the lace and she gasped as he found just the right spot. He continued working her with that one hand as he used the other to remove her bra and pull her pants the rest of the way off. She didn't even notice what he was doing, because it felt so good. She felt him pull the last slip of lace off of her and she caught her breath for that split second his hand was gone, only to shout out when he replaced it with his mouth.

She arched her back and bucked in to him, feeling her entire body flush. She felt herself get warmer as something wound itself tighter within her core and she was screaming and begging him not to stop when an explosion of pleasure came over her and she felt herself come so hard she felt like she might pass out.

He slowly sat up and smiled to see her still recovering from the experience. Suddenly a look came over her, and she sprang up to push him on his back, She was pulling off the rest of his clothes and he was all to happy to let her, reaching out to touch her as she went along. Once she had gotten everything off, she leaned forward to kiss him and started to trail kisses down his jaw.. chest. stomach. _No_, he thought, _girls like her don't._. And than she did. His mouth hung open and he balled up his fists in the fabric at his sides as he felt her mouth sliding up and down his length. He looked down and she met his eyes with a ferocious look that sent shockwaves down his body. She sucked harder and his toes started to curl, so he pulled her up so it wouldn't all be over.

He rolled her over so he was on top, and hitched her legs around his. He paused for a moment, making sure this was what she wanted. When she nodded yes, he slowly slid into her, stopping a few times to pull all of the way out and back in again, a move that had her squirming with frustration. She wrapped her legs behind his back to press him further into her and grinded against him. He was kissing every part of her that he could reach, and he could feel her hands all over his body.

This time she was the one to take over and shift positions. Without letting go, she rolled on top and sat up, pulling him up with her so they were sitting, facing each other. She was controlling the movement now, and he ran his fingers though her hair, watching her facial expressions with amazement. Their eyes were locked, and while she always thought prolonged eye contact during sex was creepy in the past, right now his intense stare was just what she needed. He saw that she had found a pattern that worked, she was gasping and moaning as she gyrated against him and suddenly she was starting to shake, so he grabbed her hips to continue the movement, and he felt her pulse around him as she let out a scream. The feeling of her pulsing around him drove him over the edge and he followed her.

As they regained their senses she looked at him, amazed.

They laid in each other's arms for a while, not saying anything. Finally he broke the silence.

"Are you hungry, love?"

She was starving, actually. "Maybe a little bit"

He smiled and hopped out of the bed.

"Come with me, I'm going to cook you whatever you want."

She started to get up and hesitated, noticing they were both still naked.

"What?" he asked

"Um" she motioned to both of their nude bodies.

"Theres no one else home"

"I'm not risking Elijah walking in on me sitting butt naked in his kitchen. Besides, I'm pretty sure there are health codes against cooking naked."

"If you insist" he sighed and pulled on a pair of shorts. He grabbed a shirt from the closet, but instead of bringing it over to her, he waved it across the room so she would have to walk over and get it. In the past she would have grabbed a sheet or something rather than just stroll across the room naked, but who was she kidding? He already knew exactly what every inch of her body looked like, so she strutted over to him and grabbed the shirt before he pulled her in to a kiss.


	8. Chapter 8

Caroline was too giddy to fall asleep, and the ridiculous amount of syrup and whipped cream she put on the waffles he made her wasn't helping. She was hyper from the buzz of all that went on that night and kept chatting his ear off and attacking him with kisses.

The sun was about to come up, so he gathered some blankets and brought them out to the back porch so they could watch the sun rise.

She had fallen asleep on the wicker bench next to him before the sun even made it halfway up the sky. He stayed as still as possible, not wanting to wake her. He looked out at the back yard that spanned acres, and concentrated on the feeling of her sleeping next to him.

By 9 he heard a car pull up and the front door open with a quiet click. He carefully slid out of the bench and quietly walked in to the house. He checked over towards her as he shut the door to make sure she was still asleep. When she didn't move, he walked across the house to greet his siblings.

"Good morning, Niklaus" Elijah walked over to him, giving him a knowing smirk. "Were you coming from the back porch? That's a new spot, I don't think Rebecca's hit that one yet. Although I'd avoid the pool if I were you."

"I had it cleaned" Rebecca walked up behind him "Nik, I don't appreciate being kicked out of my own home so you can play house with a teenager."

"You're a teenager, Becca."

"You know what I mean, she would still be a teenager if she was human. She's a baby. I honestly don't know why you bother."

He turned to Elijah. "Who was she in the pool with?"

"Some football player" Elijah snorted. "and then some other football player."

Klaus raised an eyebrow at his sister. "You know what they say, Pot. Kettle."

"I'm not pretending to fall in love with them, Nik, I shag them because I'm bored. I don't play with my food. There's nothing else to do in this wretched little town."

"I'm not -"

The back door clicked open. Caroline was walking in with a sleepy expression and a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, trying to cover up the fact that she was still wearing his t shirt. She looked over at them hesitantly, but Klaus took a step towards her and she knew it was ok to join them. She walked over and he wrapped a protective arm around her.

"Nice to see you again, Miss. Forbes" Elijah said "Will you be staying with us for a while?"

She wasn't sure how to answer that. "I was supposed to leave town the same day that .." she looked up at Klaus "The day it happened. The council knows what I am and they want me dead."

"Caroline and I will be leaving town soon" Klaus said "It probably isn't a good idea for either of us to be seen in town for a while. There are just a few things to take care of, arrangements to be made, then we'll be off."

"Off to where?" asked Rebecca

He turned to Caroline "Where do you want to go, love?"

She got flustered. Just like that. She could pick anywhere in the world. It would be just the two of them "I um, uh, wow. I don't know!"

"Well you are welcome here as long as you'd like" Elijah said to her softly. He was giving her that pity look again, and it made her worried.

"Nik, you still owe me a shopping trip." Rebecca whined.

He shot her an incredulous look. "I don't owe you-"

"For that thing I helped you pick out." she reminded him. "And for kicking me out of my home last night."

He remembered urgently demanding Rebecca accompany him to the nearest city earlier that year, to buy the dress for Caroline. He didn't know anything about sizes or styles and he needed help that only his sister could provide. Rebecca demanded her that he return the favor by buying her any outfit she wanted. His revision to the deal was that he would only do so if the girl the dress was for ended up fancying him. It was pretty clear to Rebecca how Caroline felt about her brother.

The bracelet he had picked out all on his own, it was something he had in his possession for a long time, but never though he would actually find someone to give it to. He had a whole trunk full of jewels and other expensive items he had collected over the years, A little game he had played over centuries of mingling with the royals and aristocrats. The night he went to give Caroline his blood and he saw the pathetic little trinket around her wrist was the first time he had opened that box in a few decades. He rummaged through it until he settled on the perfect thing for her. Now he wanted to dump the whole box out and give it to her, but he thought it might be more gratifying to give her one piece at a time.

Caroline nudged him. "Go."

"I can't just leave you here"

"Don't be silly, Elijah can keep me company. "

He gave her a soft look. She was so kind, wanting him to spend time with his sister, and willingly spending time with one of his siblings herself. She was probably gaining a little favor with Rebecca too, by taking her side.

"That is, if you don't mind" she directed towards Elijah. She had jumped at the chance to be alone with him. She wanted to see if he would elaborate more on the little hints he had been giving her.

"Oh course not, little one"

Rebecca squealed and jumped up and down. "Nik, we're going to have so much fun."

Klaus looked miserable. "Caroline, may I speak to you in private?"

* * *

She followed him up the stairs back to his room.

"Are you sure you don't mind this, because honestly Becca can just.."

"It's fine. This is your family, they're important to you."

"I don't want to leave you, if something happens when I'm gone "

"Elijah is here. And I'm a vampire too. I can take care of myself. You're making it sound like you're leaving forever. Stop making excuses and go spend time with your sister. It's just a few hours."

"They're going to ask about us once they have us separated." he said delicately.

She looked at him, confused.

He elaborated. "They're going to ask about the nature of our relationship."

"I thought that was pretty obvious when I walked in from the porch wearing nothing but your shirt."

"No, I mean yes." he scowled. Caroline was confused. He tried to elaborate "I mean, they're going to ask if we're" he made a motion with his hands, indicating he was searching for that last word.

"Like a couple? Exclusive? going steady?" Caroline joked.

It was a bizarre thing to even think about this early. Usually those words didn't enter her vocabulary until she realized that she had been with someone for a while, and they hadn't seen anyone else. Then, it was like, _oh yeah I guess he's my boyfriend_. Guys didn't bring that stuff up at the beginning. But maybe thousand year old guys did things a little differently.

"Yes, all of that."

"You don't have to tell them anything, I don't need .."

"I want to tell them. I want it to be true." he said quietly, and gave her a hesitant look.

He was actually unsure of how she would respond. In the past, things were different. Women today didn't seem as concerned with commitment as they had been in the past. Perhaps it was because women are more powerful now. And Caroline was very powerful. But he didn't understand why young people today insisted on this ridiculous farce, where they hook up and pretend it doesn't matter, and spend weeks or months trying to ignore their emotions and and act like they could be happy with or without the person they shared their bed with wanting more from them. Was it all to avoid moments like this? He could almost understand it. Every part of him was tense as he waited what seemed like forever for her to respond.

"Yes. Wow. Ok." she stammered out. She pictured introducing Klaus to her mother and friends as her boyfriend and the thought almost made her laugh, but then he was scooping her up and spinning her around.

He was smiling. It was still so strange to see him smile,and not in the super-villain evil way. He looked so happy. He was kissing her all over, speaking into her skin.

"You're mine, and I'm yours and there's no one else."

"No one else. You and me and no one else." she responded, feeling dazed by the whole thing.

She felt herself land on something soft. He was pulling at the hem of the shirt she was wearing.

"Rebecca's waiting for you" she stammered out.

"She can wait" he growled "This can't."

"You're mine and I'm yours" she whispered, repeating his words one more time. And then she pulled him in closer.

* * *

Becca had insisted on driving. She whipped her sports car around turns carelessly and speeded down the highways at 100 mph. She was pulled over twice, but both times she just compelled the officer to let her go.

When they arrived at the expensive boutique she had ambled around, looking at and touching everything. Eventually she selected an outrageously expensive pair of jeans and a slinky little backless top with rhinestones.

He followed her around, occasionally picking up something, "Do you think Caroline would like this?"

She groaned. It was so annoying how even now that she had her brother alone, Caroline was still interrupting them.

"This store is for girls like me. Caroline wouldn't wear any of this stuff. Come on, you still need to buy me shoes and a purse to go with this. Maybe you can buy her some luggage for your trip while I pick out my purse."

He loved the idea.

Becca had dragged him to a shoe store where she selected a pair of glittery heels that were so tall he thought she might break her neck walking in them.

"Becca, I don't understand why you want to stomp around like a sparkling giant."

"It's fabulous and I want it." She pulled off the shoes and put them back in the box he was holding. "Thank you, brother." she smiled, using that voice she always used to get her way with him.

They entered a store that smelled like new leather. Becca pointed him towards luggage in one corner as she browsed around the purses. He found a set that was all black leather with bright blue stitching. The inside of each suitcase was lined with bright blue fabric to match the stitches. He selected two different sized suitcases, a carry on bag and a trunk all from that collection, and filled out the paperwork to have them sent to the house. He imagined telling Caroline they were for all the things he would buy her when they traveled, and he knew she would swat at him and tell him to stop buying things. But then she would smile.

Becca broke him out of his daze. "This one." she demanded, holding up the same butter colored leather bag she had seen Victoria Beckham carrying in that month's Vogue. He shrugged and handed it to the sales clerk, indicating he add it to the bill.

On the drive back she finally gave in and asked him about her.

"So what's going on with you and her?"

"With me and Caroline?"

"Yes, her." She said, not wanting to even mention the name.

He smiled. "I'm glad you asked, Becca. We happen to be, how do you say it, a couple."

She snorted. "Shagging some girl you hardly know doesn't make you a couple."

"Becca, be nice. There's a bit more too it than that."

"This isn't you , Nik."

"I know" he said quietly "but I'm happy."

She rolled her eyes. Since when had her favorite brother turned into a moody teenager? She was always the one to go chasing some boy and he would be the one to sit and roll his eyes at her for being so trivial. Even Stefan. He had been Nik's best friend and yet he couldn't understand why his sister insisted on carrying on with him. He didn't see the point in it, but he humored her for a while. Until it came down to him or Stefan.

"I hope you know what you're doing, bringing that girl into our home. Don't forget who she associated with." she chastised.

"Haven't you _associated_ with both of the Salvatore brothers yourself, Becca?"

She reached over to punch him. She cracked a bone in his arm, but he still laughed as he rubbed it absently.

"Speaking of the Salvatore brothers, I think we should pay them a visit on our way back." he said.

"You can't be serious. All this talk of love and you bring it right back to your bloody hybrids. You don't need the bags. You have us. And you seem to have her as well. Why can't you just go on some stupid honeymoon with your little girlfriend and forget about the bags?"

"You think this changes anything? I still need those bags. With Elena turned, they're my only chance at making hybrids."

"Father is dead. Mother's creation is dead. Finn is dead. The Salvatores know they can't kill you without risking their own lives. The war is over, Nik."

"It's never over. There are always going to be people hunting me. I've spent centuries making enemies. As have you. They'll keep coming after us. And the second I walk out in public with Caroline, they'll be after her too. I want my army."

"You're going to go even if I ask you not to." she replied.

"This is for your protection too, Becca."

She sighed. "Oh, fine. I guess I can make a stop."

* * *

Caroline had swatted him out of the room to go take his sister shopping already. She dug through her bag to find one of the only clean outfits she had left from when she had packed weeks ago, and fished her razor and toothbrush out of the bag as well. She wondered if there was a laundry room somewhere in this house.

The shower in his bathroom was impossibly fancy, with water that rushed out at a pressure that would probably sting a human's skin, but to her it felt so good. She let the hot water pour over her as she picked from all the fancy bottles that littered the shelf built in to the wall. She could get used to this.

Once she was all dressed and had dried her hair she went downstairs. Elijah was reading a very old looking book, but once he saw her he placed it down and stood up. He motioned for her to join him in the kitchen. She wondered what it was with the men in this family and hanging out in the kitchen. Was it some old world thing?

Elijah busied himself making tea. He handed a cup to Caroline and they sat quietly for a long time. Finally she mustered up the courage.

"Why did you tell me not to trust Klaus?"

"You think you can trust him?" he asked

"Yes"

He gave her a curious look. "And how did you come to that conclusion?"

She rambled on for a long time, telling him some of the story about their time in the farmhouse. She didn't want to give him any details of personal things Klaus told her, and she avoided all the sex stuff completely. She told him about how when she found out about him, he let her unleash her fury on him and never fought back, even a little. She told him about how Bonnie had seen something in the magic, and that Bonnie believed he was telling the truth. She told him about how Klaus had saved her life after Tyler bit her, and how the way he looked at her was all she really needed to see how he felt. She even told him the newest bit, about how he had basically asked her to be his girlfriend.

He sat quietly for a moment, sipping his tea. There was something going on inside his mind, but he chose not to share it.

"Do you understand why I chose to be with him? I care about him, and I believe he cares about me too."

"My brother does not care about anyone. He has loyalty to his family, but only in that he wishes that we could all be together and we will all love him and let him do as he wishes. But when things don't go his way he lashes out. May I remind you that he has daggered each of us at least once. His family he claims to care about so much."

"What do you think he's going to do to me?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know. I've been wondering for quite some time, actually. I noticed how he behaved towards you at the ball. And later I learned that your friends managed to get to Kol when we were all bound because he had gone chasing after you."

She felt a pang of guilt about that night. She was part of the plan that almost killed Klaus, and his kind brother who was sitting across the table from her.

Elijah continued "My brother has always used his looks and charm to his advantage. He can easily trick someone into inviting him into their home, he can lure away a human from a crowd so he can feed on them. He's also quite apt at using his charms on vampires. Mikael quickly learned not to employ female vampires in his hunts to find my brother. Niklaus could lure them in, make them question everything they had planned, seduce them and kill them."

She hated the image of it.

"But you see, my brother only charms people when he wants something from them, be it their blood, their death, or something else. He gets what he wants from them quickly, and than he goes on with his life. He hasn't spent the amount of time he has put in with you courting a woman for a very long time."

Right. Courting. thats what you call it when you live in an abandoned house with no running water with someone, do some witchy body swap, and then have sex the first night you get the chance.

"When was the last time he_ courted_ someone?" She asked, aware of how funny the word sounded coming from her.

"Katherine. so.. it would have been about 500 years ago?"

"Oh."

"And I'm sure you are quite aware that it was not her company he was interested in."

"Right. The blood. For the ritual."

"Yes. He probably would have tried a similar approach with your friend Elena if she had not been surrounded by vampires who were aware of her status as a doppleganger."

"Oh." She tried to picture Klaus going after Elena with drawings and jewelry and his devilish grin. Would Elena have fallen for it? Oh, who was she kidding, anyone would have, if it wasn't for the other vampires around letting them know that he was an ancient evil hybrid.

"So he's never.."

"Been in love? I don't think he has since we were humans. He and I both favored the same girl from our village, Tatia, I believe you know the story."

Caroline nodded. Were the Salvatore brothers some sort of non-lookalike doppleganger for Elijah and Klaus? The stories were too similar.

"So you don't think it's possible? That he could really care about me?"

"I just have never seen my brother act the way he does with you. He's never needed to prolong spending time with a woman to get something he wants from them"

He didn't this time either, she thought, I totally gave it up last night like a total floozy. And again that morning. Was he just after her for sex? Did he want to prove that he could get someone who claimed they hated him to sleep with him? But then why would he ask her to be exclusive so quickly? Was this all part of some game?

Elijah looked her and she blushed, certain he could read her thoughts. "I don't know what he wants from you, or why he would choose to court you rather than hold you prisoner to get it. I don't like not knowing what my brother is plotting."

"Do you think he's trying to do something to you?" Caroline asked

"Probably not this time. Ever since the incident with our mother, my siblings and I have been closer than ever. We've moved past a lot of things that kept us from being a family once we needed to work together against our mother. One thing that remains the same about Niklaus since his days as a human is his desire to be accepted as part of the family. When we were human, his.. circumstance of birth were brought up often by my father. It created rifts in the family, any sibling that showed him favor was scorned by father, and whenever our mother showed Niklaus tenderness Mikael would treat her cruelly. Eventually it became as if he was a little stranger who just happened to live in our house."

Caroline wished Klaus was there so she could hug him. She remembered the little hints he gave about not having a real childhood, but this was worse than she thought.

"Once we were turned, family was even more important. We had to remain more separate from other people, so they wouldn't know our secret. We had to move often. But Mikael became worse to him. Eventually there was a rift, and Niklaus lost all his family except Rebecca. She was the only one to take his side. The rest of us, he vowed to put in boxes, to get back at us for not being on his side. I suppose he wanted to show his power so he could get our loyalty out of fear. Rebecca, as I understand it, earned her dagger by choosing your friend Stefan over him."

Klaus had never been anyone's first choice. He was never the person that someone was most loyal to. He could never have the family he wanted. She had never realized that they had that in common. _I'm never the one_. Had he seen something in her, was there some telltale sign that she was like him? Both her parents were repulsed by her turn into a vampire, and while her mother eventually got used to it, she still looked at her daughter with a hesitant fear, not the love that Caroline had seen before. It broke her heart to have her parents reject who she was. Her father had chosen death over being like her. Her mother loved her, but she was also committed to ridding the town of vampires. She had forced her daughter out of town rather than swearing to protect her from those who wanted her dead.

"Elijah, I could be loyal to him. I could give him what he wasn't able to have with your family. I can stand by his side and always choose him." Her mind flashed to her mother, her friends, the Salvatore brothers. Yes. She could do it. She could choose him. No matter what she had to choose him instead of. It scared her, how certain she was about it.

He reached his hand across the table to cover hers. Caroline was surprised by the gesture and the tender expression he gave her.

"That may be the one thing my brother has always needed and never been able to find. For your sake, I hope that is what he sees in you. But I still urge you to tread carefully. Your life is valuable."

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thank you sooooooo much for reading this story and for all of the reviews. I really appreciate every one and want to hug all of you for them. This has been my first time writing fan fiction and I think I'm addicted. I want to write an A/U Klaroline story after I finish this one (I think I still have a bunch of chapters left in me for this story), but can't decide what direction to go in. Anyway, thanks again! **


	9. Chapter 9

Caroline was bored. Klaus had been gone for hours, and she was pacing around the house with nothing to do. Elijah had left the room after their conversation; he seemed rattled by it. She still wasn't sure what to think. She knew how she felt about Klaus, but could she ever really be sure what he thought of her? Could she take his words at face value knowing who he was?

It didn't matter. He was the only person for her. No one had ever challenged her, taught her, complimented her so well, and the way he looked at her, well she could get very used to that. Even if she wasn't sure why he picked her or if he had another motive, this was as good as it could possibly get, and she wasn't about to get all wishy washy and let it slip through her fingers.

Elijah, on the other hand, was a complete mystery. If his family was so important to him, why was he concerning himself with her? Why protect one of his brother's possible victims? Caroline had a sneaking suspicion that if he hadn't already, Elijah would soon be digging through public records and family histories trying to find an explanation for why Caroline Forbes was so important to Klaus.

She looked around for him and couldn't see him in any of the common areas of the house. Enough. She was getting out of there.

"I'm going to visit Bonnie and Elena" she called out to the empty space around her.

He appeared before her instantly.

"We'll take my car."

"You don't have to come with me" she said.

"And face one of my little brother's tantrums when he finds out I let you wander around in a town full of vampire hunting council members? I rather enjoy having all my body parts attached."

"It's fine. I'll be careful."

"Not a chance."

She rolled his eyes and followed him to the garage. He put an hand on her back to guide her towards a sleek black car that probably cost more than her house. She felt awkward as he opened her door for her. It was such an old fashioned move, to do that kind of thing for someone you weren't even dating. Oh well. Bonnie's house was first.

* * *

"No offense, but I'm not inviting you in." Bonnie said as she looked out on to her front porch and saw Elijah standing beside Caroline.

""Understandable" he agreed.

She waved the pair around to the back yard, where they could sit on some patio furniture and relax without Caroline being in view of anyone driving past.

"He was here earlier" Bonnie said.

"Klaus?" Caroline asked, surprised.

"Yeah, he was on his way out to do something with Rebecca, she was waiting in the car. He came to drop off some paperwork and the number of the realtor he hired for me."

"So he's really doing it?"

"It looks that way. He said he'll cover everything, taxes, furniture, renovations, moving, the whole bit."

"Where's the house?"

"I haven't gotten that far. He just hired the lady for me and she's going to start showing me places once we can work out a time for me to meet with her"

"Bonnie.. that's amazing"

"I know, right? I didn't think he'd actually keep his word, but here he was, and now I have a realtor who can't stop talking about how she's so excited to meet with me, although I'd be too. Her commission is going to be crazy."

"How big is this house?"

"He said that if I picked anything listed under $3 million he'd consider it a personal insult" Bonnie laughed "Can you believe that? I made him swear up and down that the house would be under my name and I wouldn't have to invite him in. And he's still doing it."

Elijah looked amused. "You must be quite a powerful witch. I think it's wise that you don't invite my brother into your home, although not for the reason you might think."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. Elijah laughed.

"Obviously, he can depend on you, and your magic has gotten him out of a tricky spot. He's going to want you around as long as possible. And witches pass their magic down to their children.."

"You think Klaus is going to sneak around my house poking holes in condoms and flushing my pills?"

"To be honest, that would be more Kol's style than Niklaus's, but yes, I imagine he is very interested in making sure you procreate. He's going to want a Bennett witch around as long as possible. Why do you think he chose a house as your gift? It provides the security and stability to raise a family, something you might not otherwise have for many years, and a grand home might be passed down from generation to generation, along with the story of the benefactor who provided it."

Bonnie wrinkled her nose. "Gross. I'm not popping out babies for a long time."

Elijah smiled "I wouldn't worry, a long time for you is a short time for us."

Bonnie asked Caroline to come in for a minute so she could give back her phone and laptop, and Elijah waited outside.

"Care, your boyfriend is gross"

"He's not my... oh. I guess he kinda is my boyfriend." she smiled.

"Whatever. I'm not his witch-baby factory."

"Got it. I'll keep an eye on the situation."

Caroline said her goodbyes to Bonnie, thanking her again for everything. She was walking towards the door when Bonnie's soft voice stopped her.

"Care. Are you happy?" she said quietly

She smiled. "I am. I really really am."

Bonnie seemed satisfied. "Ok."

* * *

Elena's house was next. Poor Jeremy looked like he about had a heart attack when he saw Caroline and Elijah at his door.

"Caroline. I thought you left town with Tyler like three weeks ago. I thought you'd be in Europe or something by now."

It stung a tiny bit, the reminder of how different everything was just a few weeks ago. She was so wrapped up in Klaus that she forgot just how new he was.

"I'm only here for a few days. I was hoping to see Elena"

He looked down.

"Where's Elena?"

"It's just, with her being a vampire and all, and she's new."

Elijah chimed in. "Its smart to keep your distance right now, she's still learning."

Caroline looked confused at the two of them. Then she remembered that Elijah and Elena kept in contact, of course he would know that she wasn't here. He was just letting Caroline find it out on her own.

"Elena's living with the Salvatores for now" Jeremy said. "When she turned, she couldn't get in without an invitation. She asked me not to invite her in the house until she felt sure that I would be safe around her."

It sounded like Elena, protecting Jeremy from everything, only now the thing she was protecting him from was herself.

Jeremy stepped out on the porch to hug Caroline and say goodbye, although he looked anxiously at Elijah and didn't go near him. Elijah had been invited in their home before, but he was too polite to make a show of it.

* * *

The two of them waltzed in to the Salvatore house like they owned the place. Rebecca called out to let them know who had just entered their home.

"Hello boys? Where are you?"

"Up here, you soul- sucking she beast. Come for another go at it? You might have some competition" Damon called out from a room upstairs. there was a crack. "Ow! Joke! I was joking. The new you hits a lot harder."

Elena must have been sitting next to him when he yelled his response to Rebecca. They could hear someone else walking around.

"She break another rib?" Stefan's voice carried out from another place upstairs. They could hear him walking over to where Damon and Elena were.

"What's Rebecca doing over here anyway?"

"Oh, who knows, she's probably still pouting that I won't throw her a - Ow! Elena!"- he grunted and than regained his normal speaking voice "Anyway, Stefan, considering I'm otherwise engaged, you're welcome to rekindle your romance with the original bitch on wheels."

"Pass." Stefan said.

"I heard that" Rebecca protested as she marched up the stairs. Klaus stayed silent. He wanted to see their faces the moment they knew he was still alive.

They reached the doorway and waited for one of the three vampires in the room to turn around to face them.

Damon shifted on the couch as he casually turned around "You know, Rebecca, you can just - OH FUCK-SHIT!"

Elena and Stefan both turned to see what it was, and all three of their faces turned to pure horror as they saw Klaus leaning in their doorway.

"You're dead! I saw you burn!" Damon shouted.

"You're dead too, technically" Klaus shrugged

Stefan pulled Elena off the couch and stood in front of her.

Klaus pointed at Stefan. "You and I are going to have a long chat about the meaning of friendship, mate."

Stefan looked terrified.

Damon was still shaking his head, unable to believe what was in front of him.

"I'm going to make this very simple. You have the bags. I want the bags. Give them to me or all three of you can die slowly."

Elena's eyes darted over to Damon's. He shook his head no. It was all the confirmation Klaus needed that they did in fact have what he was looking for. It also made it clear who was going to be the most stubborn about giving him the bags.

In under a second he had flashed over to Damon and snapped his neck. Elena screamed.

"Don't be so dramatic, You know he'll come to in a little bit. Now give. me. the. bags."

Elena charged towards him with rage, but Rebecca jumped out to meet her. The two of them slammed each other into the walls fell to the ground, wrestling. Rebecca had snapped a leg off a table and was angling to stake Elena with it, but the baby vampire was putting in a good fight.

"Don't kill her Becca" Klaus warned, Caroline would never forgive him for something like that. He saw Stefan a sigh of relief and remembered he needed to make them believe he would kill them all. "Yet." he added.

He casually walked over to Stefan.

"Now what am I going to do with you?"

He slammed Stefan into a wall and held him in place with a hand around his neck. Klaus shoved his other hand into Stefan's chest, feeling every bone in his hand break as he forced it though Stefan's ribs. Stefan looked stunned, then afraid. He looked like a man who knew he was about to die. Klaus pulled the hand out and pressed his arm against Stefan's neck, and switched so his more usable hand was in his chest. He found Stefan's heart and squeezed.

"I don't have a witch present to stop your heart like you did mine, but I suppose I could just tear it from your body. Of course there would be no putting you back together after that."

Elena was screaming. "Stop it! Please! We'll give you what you want! Don't kill him"

"This is what I want" Klaus growled. "I want you to know what I felt when you betrayed me." He squeezed harder and Stefan screamed. "I could just kill you and then take the bags. I know they're here somewhere."

Elena was begging and screaming but he didn't care. He wasn't interested in her. His eyes were locked on Stefan. His old friend. His only friend. Klaus looked into the eyes of the man that had reached into his chest and stopped his heart. Now it was all reversed.

* * *

Caroline and Elijah pulled up to the Salvatore house and saw a red sports car in the driveway. It wasn't Stefan's or Damon's. She remembered it from when Klaus had given her the tour of the house.

"Oh no." she whispered, and ran into the house at vampire speed. She stopped in the foyer to listen for where they were, and when she heard the noises she flew up the stairs.

There he was, his back to her, blood caked up to his elbows, with a hand in Stefan's chest. Damon was on the ground, unconscious for the moment. Rebecca had Elena pinned, but she looked up at Caroline when she saw her come in the room. Elena saw her too, and stopped struggling against Rebecca. Stefan saw her, and his gaze broke from Klaus to the blonde in the doorway.

Klaus must have felt the change in the atmosphere of the room, although he was too busy in his work to hear her approach.

He turned around and saw her. His love, his Caroline. She was looking straight at him, at his hand wrapped around her friend's exposed heart. This is who he was and he couldn't hide it from her anymore. In that moment, he knew that he had lost her.


	10. Chapter 10

He turned around and saw her. His love, his Caroline. She was looking straight at him, at his hand wrapped around her friend's exposed heart. This is who he was and he couldn't hide it from her anymore. In that moment, he knew that he had lost her.

Everyone was looking at her. Elena and Stefan were confused. They had thought she had run away with Tyler weeks ago, she shouldn't be there. But then again they thought Klaus was dead. And here he was.

Rebecca gave her an anxious look, griping the stake she was pointing at Elena. She wasn't sure if Caroline was going to lunge at her and try to rip the stake away or run from the room crying.

Caroline just looked at Klaus. His arm against Stefan's neck was caked with dried blood. The other arm was in Stefan's chest, his hand wrapped around a heart, and she could make out shapes that looked like lungs and ribs, in places they didn't seem they should be. His fangs were out and his eyes had gone yellow. When he turned his head to look at her, he looked so savage, scary even. She caught a glimpse of the big bad wolf they had been trying to put down for the last year.

_Remember this morning _she told herself_. You choose him. You will be there for him. You will be by his side. You knew who he was and fell for him anyway._

Caroline took a moment to take it all in.

"Stop." she said sternly. "Klaus. I need you to let go and take your hand out of Stefan's chest. Rebecca. please keep the others confined to this room. Elena, Stefan, just stay here, ok? We're going to fix this, but first I need to talk to Klaus alone."

He hesitated for a moment, not ready to end this particular torture session so soon, but he felt his hands leaving Stefan's chest, answering her command. He was confused. What was going on? She should have run from the room screaming, or attacked him for hurting Stefan. Why was she so calm?

Rebecca raised an eyebrow at Caroline's sudden bossiness, but dragged Elena up and pulled her and unconscious Damon over to where Stefan was sitting, clutching the slowly shrinking hole in his chest. She waved the table leg she was still holding, reminding them that she could easily stake them.

Caroline marched over to Klaus, laced her fingers around his bloody ones and led him from the room. He was dazed. What was she doing? Was she trying to be nice by breaking up with him in private? Could it even be considered breaking up if he hadn't even gotten the chance to take her on a real date?

Elena saw the way Caroline had taken Klaus's hand and the ease in which he followed her out of the room. She felt herself boiling with rage. What was Caroline doing with him? How could she? What about Tyler? Was Caroline ever really on their side, or was she informing to Klaus the whole time? With her new vampire strength and speed, she wanted to charge at her and attack, but a blonde original was in her way.

Klaus absently stared at his hand, being led by the girl walking in front of him. He saw it all, she would break up with him and leave. He would go back and snap Stefan and Elena's necks so he had some time to search the house for the bags. Then what? The hybrid army didn't seem nearly as enticing now. He would still need it, of course. But he was getting used to the new life he had begun picturing. He wouldn't just have an army, he would also have a queen. But now it was all over before it even had a chance to begin. Caroline had been a rare person, the only one in a very long time who he had actually had an interest in beyond the short term who gave him a chance. He wouldn't find that again any time soon. He didn't even want to.

* * *

They were in Damon's bedroom. She pushed him on to the bed and straddled his lap. She was kissing him. Wait, why was she kissing him? It didn't matter. He wasn't sure if this would be the last kiss he would ever get out of her, so he pulled her in closer. his hands ran up and down her back, leaving bloody smudges on her shirt.

She broke away after a minute and he looked back at her, confused.

"You should have told me you were coming here" she said

He looked down.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you wouldn't like it."

"You're right. I don't like it. But what I like even less is not knowing what's going on."

"You would have told me not to come, you don't understand"

"So explain it to me" she said, annoyed.

"The Salvatores managed to paralyze me and almost killed me. they would have if it wasn't for Bonnie. They would have taken themselves and you along with me when I died. They came even closer than Mikael ever had. I couldn't let them think they could get away with it. I had to show them how easily I could kill them. I don't wan't them dead, I like having Stefan around, and I know he wouldn't be very friendly to me if I killed his companions."

"You just needed to scare them." she said

He nodded.

"Do you think you scared them enough?"

"For now. but..."

"But what?"

"Theres something else. Something you'll like even less."

"What?"

He shot her an annoyed look. He pulled her off of his lap and stood up, taking a few steps away from her. "I'm not going to tell you. You're already gone so whats the point? Why are you still here? You want to hear the whole plan and go running back to your friends to tell them what I'm going to do? Stop pretending you can still be with me after what you saw in there."

It felt like a punch in the gut. She stormed over to him and shoved him hard. "How dare you tell me what I'm feeling! You think you know what I'm going to do? You're so used to people betraying you or choosing someone else over you that you don't even stop to consider that maybe I want to be with you anyway." She was right up against him, standing on her tiptoes so she could look him straight in the eye. "I thought we agreed this morning. Its you and me. you and me and no one else. That means that even when I don't like what you're doing, I'm going to support you. I'm always going to be on your side and I can't believe you thought you could get rid of me that easily. You're stuck with me now. So why don't you tell me whats going on so I can help?"

She put her hands on her hips and glared at him, waiting for a response.

He saw it again, the thing within her he saw the night she attacked him at the hunting cabin. She was a warrior. He didn't always know what her next move was and it scared the shit out of him and turned him on all at the same time.

It wasn't possible, No one had ever really been on his side above all else. Rebecca had come the closest, but even she had eventually picked Stefan over him. Eventually Caroline would do the same, she would rip him apart by telling him that someone else was more important. But for now he would allow himself to forget the inevitable and just enjoy the time until she would stick the knife in. He could have a few good years with her, maybe even a century until she changed her mind. It would hurt more if he let himself pretend it could last forever, but it would be worth the pain.

"Ok. I'll tell you everything"

They sat there and he told her about how he had captured Elena and tried to bleed her to death, collecting her blood so he could make hybrids. She but her lip, obviously upset that he came so close to killing her friend (again) but she didn't say anything. He told her he needed the bags. He needed the army he could make and he wanted to keep both of them safe.

She sat quietly for a moment.

"I think I know how you can get the bags and ensure Stefan's loyalty. I don't know about friendship, really, but it could be possible. At least for a while. But you'll have to give them something in return."

He listened to her explain the plan. It made sense and the terms were ones he could live with. He was surprised by how she took into account that Stefan's friendship was important to him, and she selected a plan that could leave the door open for that. He never said that the friendship was all that important to him, but she knew from that picture he had kept all those years.

* * *

When they got back in the room, Elijah was there, and Damon was awake. The two original siblings had placed themselves between the Salvatores and Elena on the couch, Elijah between Elena and Damon, and Rebecca between two brothers. When Caroline came in the room she sat on the couch next to Elena and Klaus stood across from the row of them.

"Care, whats going on?" asked Elena "Are you with him or something?"

"Shh. just listen"

Klaus looked at Stefan. "There were six bags. Do you have all six?"

Stefan nodded yes.

"Very well. This is my only offer and you would be wise to accept it. I will take one bag today. In exchange I will give each of the three of you a vial of my blood. A cure for a werewolf bite, should the occasion ever arise. You will continue to give me one of the remaining bags once every ten years. During these visits, I will give you another vial of my blood should you have had to need the old ones. From now until ten years after you give me the last bag, my hybrids and I shall not kill anyone you care about, and you lot shall not kill anyone I care about. If you try to deceive me by giving me someone else's blood, or if you come after me or send someone after me with the intent of desiccating me or killing me, you will die."

Elena spoke first. "So we have a guarantee you won't hurt us for as long as we're providing you with a bag of my blood every ten years?"

Klaus nodded.

She looked at Damon. He mouthed a _no_ to her but she ignored it.

"There are 16 bags, not 6. You can have all of them if you extend the offer accordingly. So 160 years of peace instead of 60."

Damon shot daggers at Elena with his eyes. He hated when she did stuff like this.

Klaus looked at her confused. Where were the other bags from?

"When you left with Stefan, Damon and I thought you would be back eventually to take me, or more specifically, my blood. So we drew a little out at a time, hoping to stockpile enough to make some sort of deal with you so I could stay here. We had ten bags worth before you kidnapped me and tried to kill me."

More bags. Better yet, more hybrids. He could live with keeping peace with them for a longer period of time.

He smiled. "Agreed. I'll have that first bag now."'

Stefan sulked down to the basement, and Rebecca and Elijah went home. Caroline wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. She had been so excited to see Elena for the first time since her friend had become a vampire, but now she just wanted to get away. The look Elena was shooting her was pure disgust.

"Caroline, Can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?"

She tried not to groan with annoyance as she followed Elena out of the room, leaving Klaus and Damon to ignore each other while they waited for Stefan to return with the bag.

* * *

"What the hell is going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you here, and Why are you so friendly with Klaus? How long have you known he was still alive? Does that mean Tyler is still alive?"

"I came back just for a few days. I know it's not safe with the council knowing about me, I wanted to see everyone. I'll be leaving soon. and Tyler is really dead."

"You skipped the part about Klaus"

"Can we just not."

"Are you with him?"

"Elena."

"Answer the question."

"Yes. I'm with him."

"That's disgusting! You know what he's done! How could you? I can't believe you, Caroline!"

"Calm down."

"No. Caroline, how can you be with him? How long have you been with him? Were you cheating on Tyler? Did you kill Tyler? Were you helping him all along behind our backs?"

"No. I would never, how can you even say that? This is new, but its not going away. I'm with him now."

"He's just using you, Care. How can you be so stupid? You keep going after these guys who don't want you, or only want you for sex. None of them love you, and you keep running after them like a stupid little girl who wants a fairy tale ending. Matt didn't love you, he just gave in because you were pestering him. Everyone except you knew what Tyler was like, but you fell in love with some warped version of him you thought was in love with you or something. Tell me Caroline, how long did you wait to sleep with both of them? You think you can fuck someone into loving you? I don't even need to bother asking if you're already fucking Klaus."

"Why do you care so much? This has nothing to do with you! I don't have to justify who I'm with to you."

"I can't even look at you. You should know better. I think you should leave"

Caroline was stunned. How could Elena of all people hate her this much? "Really, Elena? You look pretty cozy with Damon. After all you insisting that it was always going to be Stefan, you go and jump right to his brother? And you know what Damon did to me. Don't give me your shit about friendship and the honorable thing to do or try to shame me for sleeping with who I want to sleep with. You're no better."

* * *

She walked back in to the other room and saw that Stefan had already handed Klaus the bag. Stefan was giving her a confused look. She felt bad for him, wondering why he put himself through the pain of being around his brother with his ex.

Klaus saw the pained expression she still had from her conversation with Elena. They had been shouting, and all the vampires still in the house had heard it.

He put the bag in his pocket and wrapped an arm around her, kissing the top of her head.

"We'll be leaving now. I'll see you here again in ten years."

"I guess I won't be seeing you again for another ten years" Damon whispered at Caroline "That is, if he keeps you alive that long"

* * *

They sat in silence on the ride home. As soon as they arrived he slipped away to put the bag in a small refrigerated safe that was hidden behind a panel in his closet.

She flopped back on his bed and closed her eyes.

She could still hear Elena's words burning in her mind. Had they ever really been friends? Or was it just a mix of the convenience of having people in common and being in the same place at the same time? She heard the words all over again. There was truth in there, of course, but it was tied to remnants of what they thought was right and wrong when they were human. The lines blurred when she turned. It became harder to see someone as pure evil for killing when she had killed people and liked it.

An arm snaked behind her neck and pulled her up. He was sitting there next to her. She curled in to him and held on. Her eyes still shut, she focused the other senses, taking a moment to smell him and feel him against her.

"Are we going to go find Weres for you to turn into hybrids now?"

"Soon. But first I want to spend a little time with you. _Me and you and no one else_. Where would you like to go, love?"

She was absorbed by the sound of his voice. If his voice was a place, where would it be?

"London"


	11. Chapter 11

The next few weeks flew by. Klaus insisted on making arrangements ahead of time, and he refused to let Caroline know anything. He kept scribbling notes and making hushed phone calls, and she practically had his credit card numbers memorized from the amount of times he read them off to someone on the phone. But he was being stubborn and refused to tell her what he had planned for their trip.

She had a weird amount of free time, with not being able to go to school or having to do any chores or help her mom with stuff. Caroline spent time with Klaus in the Mikaelson home, and they occasionally snuck out to towns a safe distance away, so Caroline wouldn't have to worry about running into Council members or her old friends. She could visit Bonnie at her house, but even that required being careful that no one saw her, or the Council would be after Bonnie too.

She got to know Elijah and Rebecca more, and was surprised to find she actually liked them. Elijah had a quiet calmness that balanced out Klaus and Rebecca's (and now Caroline's) fiery tempers. He sat quietly in a different room as the other three attempted to cook a meal together only to end up arguing about every little step. Rebecca was riding Caroline's ass about how she chopped vegetables and Klaus was being bratty about showing the girls how he knew the right way to do everything so finally Caroline just took two handfuls of the Macaroni and Cheese she was trying to make even though Rebecca sniffed at it as common, and hit both of them square in the face with it. Klaus looked at her, furious for half a second, before smiling, and retaliating by throwing food right back at her. When Elijah walked in to see what all the screaming was about, Rebecca was mashing tomatoes into Caroline's hair as Klaus was dumping flour all over his sister.

Elijah had the 'stern not-at-all-amused parent' look down perfect. His siblings may have been a thousand years old, but sometimes they acted like children. Caroline was making it worse. Klaus was unpredictable and not following his usual patterns or habits. He kept smiling, and it was seriously creeping Elijah out.

Now he had to deal with the little games their new blonde was encouraging? Rebecca was even worse with a sidekick. They were always whispering and giggling, and sneaking off with _his_ credit cards to go clothes shopping or they would come home with bags full of clanking bottles to make impossibly complicated girly drinks they would have far too many of while dancing around the house, singing along to awful pop music. Usually, he could count on Klaus to be the one to growl at them, break the ipod and shut the whole thing down (Kol, on the other hand, would be right on the table with the girls, daring them to down another shot) but Klaus wasn't being his usual surly self. He would just sit on a couch and smile, and pretend to act all reluctant and embarrassed when Caroline would yank on his arm to get him to dance with them, and Rebecca would let out high pitched noises of happiness and clap her hands. Elijah knew Klaus never did anything he didn't want to do. So why was his brother letting the baby vampire lead him around, and more so, why did his brother seem to like it?

One night, Klaus joined in early, drinking glasses of scotch while the girls mixed up something bright blue and frozen. Despite Caroline's protests, he insisted on playing old records of music from the twenties, and she rolled her eyes as he taught her the dances for the old fashioned music, but inside she was loving it. She just couldn't let him know, or he would win. Rebecca dragged Caroline up to her room to find some dresses that would suit the theme of the night, and they sat in her bathroom as Rebecca forced Caroline to stay still so she could demonstrate how wild girls did their makeup in the 20's.

"Do you love my brother?"

"Wow." Caroline responded, and reached for her drink, pulling a long sip.

"Well, do you?"

"I. Um. We haven't. He and I haven't said that yet." Caroline tried to look away, which was difficult with Rebecca pulling on her eyebrow as she added more dark eyeshadow."

"You do! You love him!" Rebecca exclaimed, half triumphant and half surprised.

"You can't. Don't say anything." she pleaded, keeping her voice low, "I don't want to freak him out"

"You should tell him"

"No way, too soon"

"You're as stubborn as he is!"

Caroline stuck her tongue out, and Rebecca wrinkled her nose in response.

* * *

Klaus scooped Caroline up when she came down the stairs and twirled her around.

"You look like a real twenties girl! I must say the look suits you. I like it even better this time than the last, because now you're not just a beautiful girl in a dangerous dress, you're _my_ beautiful girl in a dangerous dress."

Caroline kissed him in response.

Rebecca groaned and turned to Elijah.

"A corny line like that would never work on me"

"Darling, _hello_ would work on you."

"Hmft!" she stomped away to blend up another drink.

Caroline danced with Klaus for what felt like forever. Finally, sweating and in serious need of more sugary drink, she left him to go get some more blue slush.

Rebecca was sitting at the table, a straw in the mostly empty pitcher, her phone in front of her. Her makeup was running down her cheeks from crying. When she saw Caroline she wiped under her eyes to try and hide it, slipping back into her more guarded ice bitch persona, but she was drunk enough to not be able to hold up the walls for long.

Caroline just sat next to her and waited. She knew if she asked, Rebecca would snap at her, instead she would let her tell her on her own.

"I called him. He didn't answer. I left a message."

Caroline just looked at her, wanting to hug her, but afraid it might make her mad.

"All of them, my brothers, they all make fun of me for falling head over heels for any man that pays me the slightest attention. It's true. I do fall easy. And no one ever falls back in love with me. Everyone thinks I'm hot, but no one thinks I'm worth loving. What's so wrong with wanting to be in love? And why can't I have it? Nik has you now, I want someone too."

Caroline was stunned. The way Rebecca had chased after Matt had been painfully obvious, but just like how Klaus pursued her, she had assumed that Rebecca was not after love, but something else.

"There's always someone else they love more, and they're always afraid of me because I'm an original, and that makes me more powerful and all, but why can't one person like that about me?" Rebecca looked at her phone. "I loved him so much, but Nik took him away from me. When I woke up again, and he was there, I just thought we would go back to the way things were. But there was someone else. And I had to be petty and try and gat back at him through his brother, but it just did the opposite of what I wanted. What does she have that I don't?"

Caroline was confused. She thought Rebecca was talking about Matt, but it didn't add up. Maybe a boyfriend from before? What had Klaus done?

Rebecca drained the pitcher and grabbed a rum bottle from across the table, taking a drink directly from the bottle. "I'm going to call him again" she slurred.

Caroline looked over at the phone. She was dialing Stefan's number. Stefan? When she woke up... Rebecca did mention that she had been daggered since the twenties, that picture of Klaus and Stefan looked like it was from the twenties. She would have to get Klaus to tell her the whole story. She felt a stab of pain as she tried to imagine what Rebecca was going through. She had been so wrapped up in her amazing new relationship with Klaus that she had forgotten just what it felt like not that long ago, to be the girl who was never the one. Rebecca had dealt with it a lot longer than she had, and her brothers had probably scared away a lot of guys who would otherwise be interested. It couldn't have been easy to deal with for all those centuries.

Rebecca had wandered out of the room as she began to leave another voicemail.

Caroline looked for Elijah, but he was no where to be found. Instead she would have to ask Klaus to help with this one.

"Rebecca needs to go to sleep, she's drunk dialing"

He raised an eyebrow. "Who would she even call? You're the closest she has to a friend."

"Be. Nice. Just go walk your sister up to her room and hide her phone, please?"

"Only because you asked, love. Are you sure you wouldn't prefer it if I just daggered her again for a while?"

"Klaus! not funny!"

He shrugged and walked down the hall. Caroline heard a crunch as he smashed her phone in his palm, and her sulking and stomping as he lured her up the stairs with promises of buying a better phone the next day.

* * *

Finally she had him all to her self. When he came back down the stairs she just watched him. He walked over to the couch she was on and she pulled him in next to her.

"What happened with Rebecca and Stefan?"

He didn't answer.

She looked at him. He was giving her the 'you're not going to like this' look.

"I know you did something. I'm not going to hate you for it. It was in the past. I just want to know."

He sighed. "We had to leave. People were starting to figure us out. I wanted Stefan and I to be friends and travel together, but it was all falling apart and I couldn't get him to see things my way. I knew we'd have to split up. Rebecca and I were always together, no matter what. And when I told her we had to leave, I knew she would pick me over Stefan. She always had. But she picked him. She would have let me be all alone so she could run away with someone she had only known a few years."

"That's why you put the dagger in her"

He nodded yes. "I did that. Then Stefan showed up, and I made him forget he knew us. When I woke Becca back up, I had him remember. For her, it was like she was asleep for a minute, but for him it had been almost a century, and he had moved on and found someone else to love, because he didn't remember her until that moment."

"If it wasn't for her choosing him over you, would you have been ok with them being together?"

He made a face "I don't like anyone with my baby sister. She's too trusting when she's in love, and she has the illusions of people being better than they are. Everyone ends up hurting her, and I'm always the one who has to pick up the pieces."

"Stefan didn't though, right? You did, by forcing them apart."

He glared at her. Why did she always have to point out the things he didn't want to hear?

"You don't know anything about what went on, this was long before you were even born, you can't just go around telling me what I'm to blame for-"

"I can't tell you the truth? This is your fault. And If you love your sister you should try to fix it"

His eyes narrowed "You should stop talking about things you don't understand"

"No" she said "I understand just fine. You just can't handle me telling you what everyone else is afraid to say. You're selfish and stubborn and you never admit when you're wrong. I love you, but you do terrible things to the people you claim to care about. If this is how you treat her, then what are you going to do to me the second I don't do exactly what you want?"

He went from angry to shocked. Did she just say she loved him?

Caroline realized what had come out of her mouth and prayed that it wasn't the part of her little rant that he picked up on.

He tilted his head and scrunched his brow. Did she really love him? Was it even possible?

Feeling awkward about accidentally blurting out that she loved him right in the middle of yelling at him, she got up and walked out of the room. She kept walking out the back door and through the yard. Eventually she sat down in the grass and looked up at the stars. She was mad at him for being stubborn, but even more mad at herself for saying out loud that she loved him. She didn't want to be the first one to say it. He probably didn't feel the same way. And even if he did, it didn't change the fact that he was a terror to the people he said he loved. It didn't fix anything. What was she going to do? It was too late to back out, she couldn't change how she felt about him even though she knew exactly who he was.

The night was clear and it was cool out. She wished she had worn something other than a little dress when she stormed out. How long could she sit there and steam before she could go back inside? She was mad at him, but she wanted to go back in the house and curl up in bed next to him. Why was it that even at her most angry she wanted him to be there? She closed her eyes and tried to hear all the sounds of the night. There were cars driving past in the distance and a faint hum of the pool's filters, crickets and frogs making noises, and then one click. The sound of the back door, and the rushing of feet on grass.

He blurred over to her at vampire speed and pulled her up. She obliged, still wanting to be next to him, even though she was mad. He was standing in front of her, still holding her wrists. The intense gaze never broke away from her.

"Did you mean it? What you said?"

_Ugh, no, not now_, she though.

"Caroline." his hands moved up, one on the side of her face, the other tilting her chin so she had to look at him.

She hated when he did that. Why couldn't he just ignore it and leave her alone. She felt a knot of fear in her stomach, knowing he wasn't going to let her get away without talking about this.

"Ok. Yes, you really are selfish and shitty to the people you care about. I meant it."

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it."

"Klaus, do we have to...""

"Yes."

She took a deep breath. "I love you."

He was just looking at her, not saying anything. Caroline wondered if he thought she was crazy. Why did he have to make her say it again? He was so controlling and pushy. She could list twenty negative things that he was and she still knew it was true. She did love him, not even despite who he was, but because of who he was, because there were good things that over powered the bad things, and because in her short time with him, she saw he was willing to try, to work towards being better, she made him better and it made her feel powerful. And he made her better. She was stronger with him, and the choices she made were about what she wanted, instead of what her friends and family wanted for her. She enjoyed being a vampire for the first time in her life once she was with him.

She looked down and took a step back. She felt his hands leave her face and wished she hadn't just done that.

"I've loved you for a long time now." he said quietly "I didn't think it was possible that you could ever feel the same."

She looked back at him, surprised. Without thinking, she flung herself at him, kissing him with force. He tilted back, startled by the suddenness, so she pulled at his shirt to bring him closer.

His hands pushed into her lower back, closing any space left between them. She felt her feet slide against the grass as she pulled herself as close as possible to him. Everything else disappeared. It was frustrating to be so mad and to have it all go away so easily. She couldn't stay mad at him when he was kissing her like that. He pulled them down so they were sitting, and dragged her into his lap. She felt her dress being pulled off and snapped out of it.

"Hey. Stop it. I'm mad at you."

He kissed along her neck as his hands ran up and down her back. "shh, love, don't be mad" He leaned forward and gently pushed her back into the grass, trailing kisses down her chest and stomach.

"You need to fix things for Rebecca" she stammered out, pushing him away slightly, although not really wanting to stop. She tried to reach for her dress, but he had her pinned, and it was right out of reach. She wiggled and squirmed, but he wasn't letting her go anywhere. Something warm and hard was pressing into her and it was all she could do not to think about how much she wanted him inside her.

"I'll do whatever you say, love, just stop trying to put your clothes back on. I have some things in mind right now that are very specific to you not wearing them."

She couldn't pretend much longer, so that would have to be good enough.

"You promise? You'll fix it?"

"I promise" he spoke into her skin as his hand grazed her leg, pulling it around his waist.

That was all she needed. She made quick work of pulling his shirt off, desperate to feel his skin against hers. They found a pattern, taking turns pulling clothes off of each other until there was nothing left. The cold ground felt soothing against her back as she felt her body flush with heat. She pulled him closer and kissed him. His mouth opened and he let out a soft noise as he entered her, and she sighed in response. Her back was sliding across the grass with every thrust, and she locked her legs around his back to hold on tighter to him.

She grinded her hips into him, and let out a tiny gasp at the feeling. He smiled and reached behind her, pulling her body into his to continue the motion. Something was building up inside her and she no longer had any control over the incomprehensible noises leaving her mouth.

He was about to explode, but seeing her fall apart like that was the most thrilling thing. Every little move that came from her drove him closer, but he wouldn't allow himself to finish before her, even though holding out was absolute torture. He enjoyed being the one to make her writhe and swear and moan like that. He could feel her body start to shake and he knew it wouldn't be long.

"Thats it, sweetheart, come for me now."

Only a moment later she let out a cry and dug her nails into his back, and he could feel her walls pulsing around him. Seeing her like that and feeling her tighten around him was enough to bring him over the edge as well and he let out a growl as he felt the shockwaves run through his body.

He looked down at her, grass matted in her hair, flushed, panting and still sweaty from what he had done to her. She smiled at him, thoroughly satisfied and exhausted. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and he was dying to grab a sketchbook so he could commit the moment to memory. He wanted to paint her, looking just like that, and hang the painting somewhere he could look at it every day.

"I love you" he said again, picking a blade of grass out of her hair.

"I love you too."

* * *

She had gone to visit Bonnie again, enjoying a chance to get out of the Mikelson house for a while. She really did love Klaus, but sometimes it felt like she completely traded her old life in for a new one when she decided to be with him. It was nice to do something that connected her to her life before, and Bonnie was the only one from her past that would still talk to her.

It was nice to go over there every few days and get a little piece of her old life, and then get to go home to her new life. Her hot new life with a sexy accent and a weirdly adorable family of vampire royalty.

They were sitting on Bonnie's bed, watching youtube videos of baby animals doing cute things, eating ice cream out of the carton and re-hashing all the details of Bonnie's recent breakup. She had already gone through the worst, but now she was ready to talk about it all, make sense of it and move on.

"I know I'm the one who broke up with him, but it still hurts to think about."

"What made you decide.."

"I was over his and Abby's house, and he called her Mom in front of me."

"Shit."

"Yeah. Like I get that she raised him, but hearing that, it felt so wrong. And not hot wrong, gross wrong."

Caroline just hugged her and let Bonnie talk. It was only about a month or two ago that their roles were reversed. Bonnie was handling it well, but Caroline didn't want to go hopping a plane to London when her friend was still working through something like this.

When she left the house again the next day, she had told Klaus that Bonnie needed her around and asked if they could wait a few more days before leaving. He didn't even flinch.

"Of course love, take all the time you need" he responded.

Bonnie was back to her old self that day. Caroline sat on the couch with her watching re-runs of their favorite shows when the doorbell rang.

Bonnie got up and fixed her hair. "Ok. I'm going to guess. Dark hair, tan, brown eyes."

"Huh?"

"You'll see"

Caroline scrambled to follow her to the door. There was a man carrying a toolbox standing on the front porch, and he was hot. Not just hot, but action movie star hot. Bonnie was a bit off though, this guy was tan with dark hair, but his eyes were grey.

She acted like she was expecting him.

"I'm here to fix the kitchen sink" he motioned to his toolbox.

She waved for him to come in, her little trick of letting a human know they could come in without inviting a vampire.

Caroline mouthed "Holy shit" to her as they ridiculously good looking man came in.

Bonnie pulled her into the other room.

"Yesterday, right after you left, it was a personal chef. He was blonde. The day before it was someone to fix the attic steps, a redhead. The day before that, a freaking yoga instructor, with long dreads. Ever since I told you I broke up with Jamie, there's bean a different flavor of hot man in here every day for some reason or another. And I'm not complaining about the free yoga lessons and food and repairs, but this is nuts."

"I told him about the breakup" she admitted sheepishly.

"Your boyfriend is fucking crazy. Like, he's great for you and all, but he's nuts. I'm constantly primping because I never know who's going to ring my doorbell."

"Are they compelled?" Caroline asked.

"I don't think so, I think he just has someone looking for hot dudes whose jobs involve them coming into people's homes, and sends a different one each day, hoping something will click eventually."

"They've all been pretty built? Like muscular?"

"Yeah. And human as far as I can tell."

"I bet he's got Rebecca on man duty. They sound like her idea of hot"

"Shit, they're my idea of hot too. I just don't know how to handle this. I don't live in a freaking episode of Desperate Housewives, I can't just start flirting with the plumber."

"Why not?"

"Because it's weird!"

Caroline smiled. "I think you need a shoe rack for your closet. I should tell Rebecca to pick out a carpenter for you"

Bonnie smiled "Can you get me a tech guy? Because my computer has this virus and there's no spell for it."


	12. Chapter 12

She had woken up first, so she snuck down the stairs to make their morning drinks and bring them back up to bed. Coffee for her, tea for him. Elijah was already downstairs when she padded down in the shirt Klaus had been wearing last night, and he gave her a look that said he noticed. She blushed a little and tried not to spill anything as she carried the two cups up the stairs. She heard faint music as she passed Rebecca's room, so she must have been awake too. Having spent her life as an only child, she enjoyed the feeling of living in a house full of siblings, even if they weren't really hers.

His eyes were still shut when she came back in but she saw him smile when he heard the cups set down on the nightstand. She leaned down to kiss him and he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her back into the warm bed.

They sat for a few minutes in silence, drinking their caffeine and waking up. He liked that she didn't have to talk first thing in the morning, it was something that annoyed him about most people. He had expected her to wake up chatting his ear off, because she was so high strung and talkative, but he was pleased to find she was just as caffeine dependent and groggy as he was first thing in the morning. He finished his cup and laid back down next to her while she took her last sip. Finally he spoke.

"Do you want to see your mother before we leave?"

"I'm going to need more coffee for this conversation." she set her cup down and buried herself under the covers, as if that could shield her from answering the question.

He pulled himself under with her, sitting up so the covers looked like a tent. It immediately reminded her of the silly blanket for they had made when he was still in Tyler's body and they were in the farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. She looked up at him and couldn't believe how important he had become to her since then.

"I'm serious. We're leaving in a few days now, and who know when we'll be back. If you want to see her, now would be the time."

"I can't just show up. She sent me away because she thought I was in danger, she'd be furious if she found out I came back here. Besides, it's... complicated"

"I think I can manage to keep up"

"Well, it's just, things with her haven't been easy since I've become a vampire. She doesn't love me the same way, and she's afraid of me. I saw the locks on the inside of her bedroom door. She doesn't trust me. And there's the thing with my dad, where she blames me a little for him being turned, and even though they've been divorced forever she still cares about him and it's like it's my fault he's dead."

"Human lives are short. I don't want you to regret it if you miss a chance to see her."

"You're right. I do want to see her, and I can deal with all that stuff I guess, but still, there's you and I'd have to explain Tyler to her and thats a lot to deal with."

"You don't have to tell her about me or Tyler."

"But I do. I can't look her in the eye and lie to her, not after all the lying I've already had to do. There's no way she wouldn't ask where Tyler was. I can't just be like, oh, hey Mom, Tyler's dead because he and Bonnie agreed to sacrificing his life by switching his spirit with that of a thousand year old original to save a whole bunch of lives including mine, Yeah, the same one that came over to drip blood in my mouth on my last birthday because he got Tyler to bite me and I almost died, and by the way, I'm totally in love with that crazy original and we're off to London in a few days. Do you have any idea how crazy this all sounds?"

"So it's settled. I'm going to have to meet your mother."

"You've met her before. Just not as my boy- uh, just not as someone I'm dating."

"I can be very charming when I need to be."

"I've noticed. But she still won't like you."

"She couldn't possibly hate me nearly as much as my own mother." he said softly.

"Stop. I didn't mean it like that. Anyone who really knew you would love you. You're amazing. But you have to understand the parts of you she's seen haven't been the best. You've done bad things to people she cared about. You're the reason why I almost died that night, and it scared her that you could be the one to save me too."

"You're over thinking this. You hate lying to her, and you know she won't be around forever, so you want to see her before we leave. You don't want to tell her about me because it won't be pleasant, so you've come up with a list of excuses to not see her, but I won't let myself be the reason you miss a chance to see her. So you're going to see her today, I'm coming with you, end of discussion."

She raised an eyebrow. "Someone's awful bossy today. Is there any chance I can talk you out of this?"

"None at all. I've already checked her schedule and I know she doesn't go to work until 6 tonight. Call her and say you're coming over for lunch and that we'll bring it, I'll find something nice that can be delivered."

"You're impossible." she sighed.

He just smiled and handed her the phone.

* * *

Two hours later she was on the front porch of the house that had always been her home, at least until recently. It was unsettling how quickly the Mikelson house had become home to her.

Her mother had been warned that Caroline was bringing a guest, but she was still shocked when she saw who was standing next to her daughter. That monster that had been responsible for the festering wound on Caroline's neck that made her think that she could actually watch her daughter die that night. That evil creature who played the situation so that he could have an invitation into their house. What was he doing there?

She leaned out to hug her daughter, she had been so worried about her, not knowing where she would go or how she would stay alive. Liz pulled Caroline inside so she wouldn't be seen, then looked back at Klaus.

"Well, don't just stand there, you already have an invitation in this house." she said dryly, looking him up and down with disgust.

She spent a few minutes asking her daughter if she was ok and begging her to get back out of town. The council was still breathing down their necks, and she was lucky to have Damon as an ally that they didn't know was a vampire, but there was little she could do to protect Caroline in this place. Finally she asked the question no one wanted to deal with.

"Honey, where's Tyler? And what is _he_ doing here?

Caroline's eyes welled up and Klaus started to reach over to put a hand on her back, but he remembered her making him promise not to act all boyfriendy before she could tell her mom what as going on.

"He died. Tyler's gone. I can't tell you all the details, but it was his choice, he did it to save me, and Damon and a lot of other people."

Liz looked horrified. "Does his mother know?"

"No." Caroline whispered "It's right for her to know, but I just can't be the one to tell her. Not yet."

Liz was blinking back tears. She had grown close to Mrs. Lockwood, they both had lost their husbands, and they both spent the last few months worrying about their only children, who they had sent away to keep safe. How could she tell her friend that her greatest fear had been realized?

"And... him?" she asked looking over at Klaus.

Caroline felt like she was going to have a panic attack. Her chest felt tight and and her mind couldn't find the right words. She had rehearsed this, but all the things she practiced had slipped away.

"I.. um.. Klaus is.. we got to know each other, and, we're like. um." she cringed. Why was this so hard to get out? _Just rip the bandage off, Caroline_. "Klaus and I are together. I love him and he loves me and we're going away soon. Somewhere far away where the council can't get to me, and I know you think he's awful and that I'm in danger but you have to believe me when I say that I'm safer with him than I could possibly be alone or with anyone else."

Liz sighed. Caroline could be so dramatic. If this was a normal human daughter and human boyfriend she would throw her daughter in her room and kick the guy out of the house, using her police connections to scare him away. There was no way she would ever let human Caroline near the murderous, conniving psychopath sitting at her kitchen table. But she was helpless against vampires, her only weapons were her words, and even those could get her killed.

She shook her head disapprovingly. When Tyler bit Caroline, she had thought her foolish daughter had picked the worst possible boyfriend. She was a vampire and could kick the ass of any guy who dared treat her wrong, but she goes and picks the one werewolf in town, the one person who had a built in weapon that could kill her? But this one took the cake. How old was he anyway? Damon was a hundred and sixty something, and she had a feeling this one was a lot older. It was beyond inappropriate. But what could she do?

Liz just looked at her daughter "You're not as invincible as you think you are. Why do you always have to pick the person who can hurt you the most?"

Caroline bit her lip. She wanted to throw the whole Romeo & Juliet, you-just-don't-understand-us style screaming fit, but her mother had heard it before.

Lis glanced over at Klaus, then back at Caroline. "He's going to manipulate you and he's going to kill you."

Klaus stood up, causing his chair to skid across the room. He looked like he was going to start screaming at Liz, but Caroline looper her arms around his waist and started pulling him to the door. He snarled and stuck in place. So much for charming the parents.

"We'll go, mom. I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted to see you. This is my choice and you can't change my mind."

She tried to drag him out but he wouldn't budge.

"Sheriff Forbes, I really do love her, and as long as I'm alive nothing will ever kill her."

Liz sneered at him "You're not alive. And I've heard this before. Get out of my house."

"Mom, please. You have to believe me. He's telling the truth, this is different."

"Believe you? I don't believe anything I'm seeing anymore. This town is full of monsters, and you're standing next to the worst one. I don't believe that he can be what makes you happy. Not if theres any trace of the human daughter I used to have."

Caroline just shook her head sadly and walked out. She had hoped for better, but in her mind she had known all along this is how it would go. Klaus paused for a moment, looking at Liz with his brow scrunched, trying to think of what he could say to change the situation, but he followed Caroline out the door. Liz watched, horrified, as he wrapped an arm around Caroline and kissed the top of her head as they walked to the car.

"It'll be ok, love. We'll come back here and see her again when she's had enough time to deal with this."

"That could take years, decades even. You'll be sick of me before she comes around to the idea of you."

"Sick of you? Is that what you honestly think the future holds? She's right about one thing, I am a monster. I've done terrible things and enjoyed them. Terrible things to you and people you hold dear. And you still gave me a chance. There's a light in you I can't begin to understand, but I know that I need to hold on to you as long as you'll let me. I'll keep you forever if you allow it. I'm less of a monster when you're here with me."

She smiled up at him. "And I'm stronger when you're next to me. I'm a better vampire and I stand up for myself. I do exactly what I want to do without apology. Being around you makes me feel like the best I've ever been. I'm finally free. You don't have to worry about holding on to me, my place is with you."

"Well aren't we a pair."

* * *

When they returned to the Mikelson house she ran straight up the stairs to Rebecca's room and pounded on the door. a rather annoyed looking Rebecca opened it. She threw her arms around her and pulled Rebecca into a tight hug. At first Rebecca just stood there, but she awkwardly patted Caroline on the back and eventually conceded and hugged back.

"What was that for?"

"Thank you. For being happy for us."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow.

"We went to see my mom. It didn't go so well."

Rebecca smiled. "She wouldn't be a very good parent if it did go well. Nik is... well, he's Nik. He thinks he can charm people into giving him his way, but more often than not he just creeps them out."

Caroline pouted. "Does it ever get easier?"

"No" Rebecca replied "But it never gets boring, either."

"Is that your dress for the party?" Caroline pointed at the tiny hot pink thing hanging from one of the posts of Rebecca's bed.

"If you could even call something that small a dress. He's going to be here, and I intend to do everything possible to keep his eyes on me."

Caroline was surprised. "Stefan's coming?"

Rebecca smiled. "Nik went to talk to him. I don't know what he said or did, but Stefan agreed to join in as we see you two off."

Caroline beamed. He had kept his promise after all. "So we know he'll be here and he'd have to be blind not to be staring at you all night. So now all that's left is a way to get the two of you alone."

Rebecca tilted her chin up "I think I can manage that."

* * *

A few days later Caroline was staring into an empty suitcase. She only had a few outfits and she was sick of all of them already. She didn't want to go back to her Mother's house to grab anything either.

"You'll find thing to fill that up with once we arrive in London." he purred into her ear.

She leaned back to feel the warm body standing behind her. Twilight really did get all the details wrong. There was nothing cold or frozen or sparkly about her vampire.

"And how am I going to pay for all those things?"

"You could always compel the salesperson, or, of course, I would be happy to pay. I have money you could spend for centuries, and I would enjoy watching you do so."

"I think you underestimate how good I am at shopping."

"I'll take that as a challenge." he said, tucking her hair to the side so he could kiss her neck. "Go on, love, try to spend it all, I dare you."

"Hmm, looks like I snagged a guy who's both super old and super rich, I feel just like Anna Nicole Smith."

"You're much smarter and more beautiful than Ms. Smith, Caroline, and I object to being called super old."

"You are super old. You're like, a thousand."

He pulled her around to face him and stroked the side of her face. "Do I look super old?"

"No"

He grabbed her hands and slid them under his shirt.

"Do I feel super old?"

"No" she stammered, feeling the muscles tense under her palms.

"Do I..."

She pulled him in to a kiss, letting her hands wander under his shirt before pulling it off. As soon as he felt it leave his skin, he backed her into a wall, pulling at her clothes to get them off in a hurry. He grabbed her wrists and held them above her head with one hand, holding her captive while he kissed down her neck and his other hand traced a line down her stomach.

"Twenty Minutes until the guests show up!" Elijah's voice called out from the hallway.

Klaus scowled and backed away.

Caroline smiled and led him to the closet. "Lets get you in a suit."

* * *

They would be leaving for London the following evening, so Rebecca and Elijah saw it fit to throw a dinner party for the going away celebration. There weren't many people invited, seeing Klaus had exactly zero friends.

Bonnie had said yes, and surprisingly, so had Stefan and Elena, although Elena had only said yes through Stefan, who explained she didn't want Damon to know she was coming, because he would throw a fit and keep her from being able to attend. Damon had sent his invitation back, torn into a hundred little pieces. Matt had been invited, but he politely said no, he was still wary of the originals.

Caroline had put on the ice blue cocktail dress that she had picked out with Rebecca the day before, and she had Klaus almost all of the way into his grey suit. Of course Rebecca would insist that the party be dressy. He leaned down so she could fix his tie when she heard Elijah shout to them again "Any Minute Now!"

Rebecca was downstairs, fussing with the place settings on the dining room table and barking orders at the compelled humans that were lighting candles and stirring pots of food. She smoothed her hot pink mini dress when she saw them come down the stairs, and walked over to the couch to put on the dangerous looking black heels she was carrying. Rebecca knew Stefan would be there, and she didn't intend to make herself easy to ignore.

Bonnie arrived first, followed shortly by Stefan and Elena, who had obviously come together, but made awkward attempts to keep a certain amount of distance between them.

Elena went straight to Elijah, pulling him in a familiar hug, and then hesitantly greeted Caroline, completely ignoring Rebecca and Klaus.

"Hey Care."

"Elena."

"I'm sorry about what I said before. I still care about you and your friendship is important to me."

"It's fine, 'Lena, I'm just glad to see you again before I leave." Caroline wasn't really over it, but she didn't feel like fighting with Elena that night. She just wanted to enjoy seeing her friends before going off to London.

The doorbell rang again. Klaus and Caroline exchanged confused looks. Everyone was already there.

Rebecca smiled triumphantly. "That would be my surprise guest"

She sauntered over to the door and flung it open, only to look horrified at the person standing in the doorway.

Damon stormed across the room to grab Elena by the wrist and started to pull her out of there, but her new vampire strength made it a little difficult for him.

Rebecca looked furious. "That is _not _my surprise guest."

"I should hope not" smirked Klaus.

Damon and Elena were having a full blown argument in front of everyone. It was the usual, she was mad at him for being controlling and trying to take her choices away, he was mad at her for being stupid and putting herself in danger. They kept inching closer to each other as they argued, she was grabbing his jacket and he had his hands on the sides of her face. Eventually they ran out of words and just glared at each other, unaware of the room full of people staring at them.

He raised an eyebrow at her and smirked.

"Not now" she growled "I'm mad at you"

"I'm more mad at you" he replied, and kissed her.

Elena kissed back, locking her arms around his neck. Damon pulled her in closer.

Caroline's mouth hung open. Those two were all passion. She looked around the room to Stefan, who was busy looking at something very interesting on his feet and Rebecca, who was glaring at Damon while running her hand across a wooden table.

Elijah cleared his throat loudly a few times before they got the hint. Elena blushed a little but Damon just smirked.

"Set another place setting for Mr. Salvatore" Elijah called out to the humans.

"No, we were just leav-" Damon started, but Elena looked up at him stubbornly "Oh fine" he conceded, gritting his teeth.

They were all sitting around the table enjoying the first course when the doorbell rang again.

Rebecca jumped up from her place, next to Klaus and across from Stefan of course, and ran to the door.

Caroline looked up from Klaus's other side to watch her. She looked around and no one else at the table seemed to know what was going on either, except for Elijah, who gave Rebecca a knowing glance.

"Well I thought Becca had been making it all up, but here you are."

Klaus snapped up from the table "Kol!" he pulled his brother into a hug.

"It took you long enough" Rebecca chided him.

"Well I lost my cell in an incident I'd rather not retell the details of, and I had been ignoring the messages you left at the hotel for over a week before they concierge started to get pushy. If I knew our dear brother had risen from the grave, I'd have returned earlier."

Elijah greeted his youngest brother and introduced him to everyone, although most of them had already met him when they were trying to kill the originals last year.

Klaus pulled Kol over to his side of the table. "Kol, I'd like to formally introduce you to someone very special to me, Miss. Caroline Forbes."

Caroline smiled at the formal introduction. She and Klaus both managed to find ways to dance around the words 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend', they just didn't seem to feel right for what they were.

She stood up and extended a hand to shake his, and to her surprise, he kissed it, his lips lingering just long enough for her to feel uncomfortable, and she pulled the hand away as he smirked up at her."

"Perhaps I wasn't being clear, Kol. Caroline and I are together. You would do well to consider her part of this family and treat her with the appropriate level of respect and decorum."

Caroline almost giggled at the jealousy in his voice. It was fun to see him flustered like that.

"Oh, Niklaus, It's been ages since I've seen your feathers ruffled this much. And even longer since you've kept a woman around long enough to get all formal about things. How is Katherine, by the way? Or should I be asking you, Elijah?"

Klaus edged closer to Kol "Mind your tongue, you little runt, or I'll remove it."

"Funny, I remember her not being very fond of you." he turned to Caroline "What made you finally give in to all his begging, sweetheart? Did your heart break at how pathetic he was, chasing after a little thing like you? What made you humor him, did he give you lots of money or just start killing people you cared about?"

Caroline wanted to slap him, but she had remembered what Klaus had told her of Kol and she knew he was trying to get a rise out of her. Kol liked bloody battles, parties, bawdy games, reckless women and strong drinks. He was as much a hedonist as Klaus, perhaps even more so, but unlike Klaus he preferred immediate payoffs to the long game.

"You're way off, Kol. And since your little comments were clearly chosen to make both myself and Klaus uncomfortable, you should know that you're going to have to do better than that. I was a high school cheerleader and a fucking beauty pageant winner. If you choose to continue this little game, you will never win against me. I'm better at it. So why don't you shove your snide comments right up your ass and change your tone. If you really want to know, I'll tell you the whole story of why I'm with Klaus some other time, but for now-" she reached over to the table and set the bottle of bourbon in front of him "I'll agree to tell you one reason why I love your brother for every shot you take."

"I've been drinking for centuries, doll, you might run out of reasons."

"I doubt it. You're welcome to try, though."

Kol smirked, and motioned for one of the humans to bring out extra cups.

"I like her" he said to Klaus, and clapped him on the back.

Kol smiled at the table of guests in front of him. "Well I won't be drinking alone, so how about you all join me for a drink as I have my first three."


	13. Chapter 13

Kol slammed down another shot. Caroline had lost track of how many this was.

"Ok. I love how he draws pictures of me. I love how talented he is, and how I can see what I look like through his eyes."

"Boring" Kol replied and poured another shot. "Give me something better than that."

"I love that he chose not to kill all my friends, even though that was probably his original plan."

"Not_ all_ your friends" Klaus protested.

"You're getting soft, brother." Kol teased.

Caroline poured him another shot and slid it over to him.

"Give me something better, doll" Kol said and downed the shot.

"I love that he could kill anyone or anything. If anyone came after me he would tear them apart. There's no one in the world more powerful than him. It's hot."

"Stop it, you're making me blush." Klaus joked.

"Well aren't you a bloodthirsty little thing" Kol smiled at her.

Kol stood up to go pester Rebecca, who was across the room chatting nervously with Stefan. He glanced over at Bonnie, who had been sitting next to them.

"Now you're a treat. I've heard Bennett blood is quite tasty."

"Kol, take one bite and I'll strangle you with your own intestines" Klaus threatened.

"You've already got a pretty little girlfriend, Why can't I have this one?" Kol pouted.

"Not interested." Bonnie replied.

Kol stumbled across the room "All the pretty people in Mystic Falls, What a place this is." He turned his attention to Rebecca. "Becca! Dance with me!"

Rebecca rolled her eyes, but sauntered over to entertain her brother. She would act like they annoyed her, but she loved spending time with her brothers.

Caroline left Klaus with Bonnie and walked over to Stefan. He put an arm around her.

"I'm going to miss you"

"I'll miss you too, Stefan"

"She's really something, isn't she?" he was looking over at Rebecca, laughing with Kol and dancing around the room like she didn't care who was watching.

"Yeah" she smiled. "I didn't think I'd ever get along with her, but she's kinda great."

"You're going to be ok, right, Care?"

"Stop worrying about me. He's... better. And don't tell anyone, but he misses having you as a friend."

He looked sad. "I think the twenties were the best time of my life. I had this great friend and this amazing girl who loved me, and we had so much fun. I can't believe I went all these years without the memories of the times we had. But now, remembering all the things I did... It wasn't just the good times I had with them, I was the Ripper. I didn't have any sense of right and wrong. It kills me to know who I was during that time. I was a monster when I was with them."

"And now I'm with him... so."

"You're not me, Care. You're so kind, and you're closer to your humanity. Just... don't let him turn you into what I was."

"Thanks Stefan." She started to walk away, but turned around. "You know, you're allowed to be happy. Moving on doesn't make what you and Elena had mean any less."

He gave her a serious nod.

She bounced over to where Rebecca and Kol were dancing, and pulled him over to dance with her. Rebecca was about to go sit down now that her dance partner was occupied, but then she saw Stefan walking towards her. She beamed as he extended a hand out to her.

Caroline smiled, watching the two of them dance closer as they whispered something in each other's ears. Rebecca was making him laugh. Stefan never laughed.

"So my brother finally got you to stop running away from him. I'm not sure if that makes you very stupid or very brave. Everyone's always running away from the big bad wolf."

"Big bad hybrid, actually" she joked

"I've been called worse." Klaus pulled her to his side.

* * *

She got all weepy when everyone left, saying her goodbyes to her friends.

"It's not forever" Bonnie reminded her "You can come back and visit whenever you want."

"Yeah. I'll make sure I come back to celebrate your new house when you move in."

"Don't forget about me, Caroline."

Caroline stared back at Bonnie. She was the only human one left. Klaus had told her that the longer you lived as a vampire, the faster time seemed to pass. Bonnie's life would flash by, and the rest of them would keep on living.

"I could never forget. I promise."

* * *

She couldn't sleep that night. There was too much nervous energy bouncing around in her. She kept tossing and turning until the sheets tangled around her.

"Still awake, love?" he grumbled.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to wake you."

He pulled himself up. "I'm awake. The flight is 8 hours, we can sleep on the plane."

She got an idea. "I know something we should do before we leave town."

* * *

"You dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night to stand in some dirty patch of woods?"

They were by the falls, in the part of the woods where the parties always happened. There was a fire pit full of ashes, a few ripped mildewed couches and folding chairs, and empty beer bottles and cigarette butts were strewn all over the ground.

"Not just any dirty patch of woods. This is where some of my favorite memories are from." She walked over to the fire pit. "This is where we used to make s'mores all the time in the summer. They're like my favorite food ever."

"S'more?"

"You're so ancient. There're like this great food you eat when you're camping or there's a fire."

He just looked confused.

"I'll show you. Sometimes I forget how un-socialized you are."

"I prefer the term feral. Or wild."

"Anyway, this was where we'd make s'mores. And we'd play tag over there" she pointed to the trees.

She walked a few steps to the side "And this is where I had my first kiss." She looked and walked a few yards away. "Where I had my first drink." She smiled a walked a few more feet away "The first place I fell down from having way too much to drink" She walked over to one of the ratty couches. "Elena threw me a surprise birthday party here when I turned 16. She and Matt and Bonnie were hiding behind this couch."

She opened the big purse she had carried with her and pulled out a chocolate bar, marshmallows and graham crackers and a few beers.

"So before I leave this place behind, I want one more s'more. one more drink. one more kiss."

* * *

They were curled up on one of the couches as dawn began to break. She pulled away from a long kiss.

"Mmmm you taste like s'mores"

"I had five" he reminded her.

"You're insatiable."

"I like to think so" he wiggled his eyebrows and pulled her closer.

"Hey! Save it for the plane."

"If you insist. At least the plane won't smell like mold and be infested with mice."

"All part of the experience."

"Well it's a good thing I planned the experiences for London."

* * *

She woke up from her nap on a plush bed on the private plane. He was sitting at a table, sketching something. She sat on the edge of his chair and watched. It was the beginning of a scene from last night. The two of them along with Stefan and Rebecca all sitting on a couch and laughing.

"Becca asked me to make it for her, and send it when it's done." he mumbled.

She weaved a hand through his hair and pulled him into a long kiss. The drawing was forgotten and he pulled her closer. She tugged lightly on his hair and felt him smile into the kiss.

"I'm going back to bed." she whispered in his ear.

"You just woke up, you're tired already?" he looked at her, confused.

"No" she smiled and walked away.

Her grin only grew bigger when she heard his footsteps behind her as he walked briskly to catch up once he picked up on what she was suggesting. In a blur she was crashing down on a pile of pillows and his lips were on hers again.

**A/N Thank you, thank you everyone for all the reviews and views on this story. I really appreciate it! This chapter was a little bit shorter than usual because I just started writing another story, a A/U all human Klaroline with bits of Delana. it's called 'Heartbeat' and you should all check it out! **


	14. Chapter 14

London had been a three month long whirlwind. He had taken her everywhere there was to see and they stayed in the nicest places in the city. It was just the two of them and it was perfect. But even thousand year old vampires can't stay on vacation forever, there are always things to do.

They were spending their last night in the gorgeous apartment he kept there. He had promised her three months of his undivided attention before starting to collect hybrids, and while he enjoyed spending every moment at her side, he was itching to collect his werewolves. All the old hybrids scattered when his body was staked, it ruined the sire bond. He needed to start over to build his army, an army of creatures like him, to keep him safe. No one would dare come near him or Caroline as long as he had them.

He counted and recounted the tiny little half ounce vials he had measured out Elena's blood in. He needed it to last for a while, and only a little blood was needed for each hybrid.

"It looks like we'll be going to Germany, love. My source tells me there's a small pack of werewolves living just outside Frankfort. Better to get a small pack first, then use them to help wrangle a bigger pack."

"Whatever you say" Caroline shrugged. She didn't know how to feel about this whole making hybrids thing. She knew it was important to keep themselves protected, but Tyler had lost some of his free will when he was sired. Although, he did also gain the ability to decide if and when to change into a wolf, so there was that. Something in her was changing, though. All the time spent alone with him was making her a little less human, and a little more Klausy. She knew she should hate the idea of him making hybrids, but she felt more indifferent than anything else.

"I don't suppose I could convince you to stay with Rebecca while I go out collecting them?"

"I'm not leaving you. If you go, I go."

"Fine then. I don't like you being anywhere near weres I haven't sired yet, but it seems theres nothing to be done about it. At least agree to stay in the hotel when I go out to their camp."

She rolled her eyes. "You'll owe me. A date for every night you leave me alone watching TV in a language I don't understand so you can go bite wolf-people and force feed them Elena's blood."

"When when you put it like that it all sounds so tawdry."

"It is tawdry." She smiled.

* * *

He was scribbling notes next to the room service menu in their room so she would know how to order her food in German. She sat behind him and rested her chin on his shoulder, watching him write out the words phonetically for her in his neat handwriting. She could tell he was anxious about leaving her alone for a few days but that he was impatient to finally collect the hybrids he'd been wanting for so long.

He packed a bag with a few essentials and counted out fifteen of the little vials of blood.

"I'll be about two or three days. Just long enough to turn them and make sure they're sired. After that, I can control them remotely and communicate with the former alpha of the pack to instruct the rest of them."

"Former Alpha?"

He grinned "there's only one Alpha, and if they're all sired to me..."

"But there's still a hierarchy, and it makes it easier for you to let them delegate the pack for you and pass on your commands."

"Precisely."

He handed her something wrapped in paper. "Take this"

She opened it to find a long necklace with something deep red hanging from it. "Is this?"

"A vial of my blood."

"I'd make an Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton joke, but you probably wouldn't get it."

"Who?" he looked confused.

"Never mind. What's with the blood?"

"I'll be away for a few days, and there are weres in the area. Just a precaution."

"Thanks, but you worry too much."

"Just take it. And stay in the room until I get back?"

"You'e going to owe me so much for this."

"Isn't that the story of our lives?" He grinned.

She couldn't help but worry as he walked casually out the door.

* * *

Three days had passed and she had watched so many episodes of Friends in German that she started to actually learn the language. She was bouncing around the lavish hotel room, practicing phrases she had learned on the tv, anything to distract herself from worrying.

_He's the original hybrid, he's going to be fine. _Shethought_. But what if something happened? _She wrapped her hand around the vial around her neck. This was the longest they've been apart since they've been together. Since before they were even together.

Her phone buzzed.

** On my way back. All went well. **

She felt relief wash over her. He was ok, and he would be back soon.

He had said the camp was something like a half hour away from the hotel. She ran around the room, cleaning up, fixing her hair, touching up her makeup. The past three days had felt like forever and she was going to make sure he hurried back from these little trips as fast as possible by reminding him what would be waiting for him when he got home.

She tore through one of the suitcases and found the new set she had bought online, it was delivered the day after he left. Tiny red lace panties and a matching bra, if you could even call something that when it was so transparent. She pulled them on and looked in the mirror. It needed something. She sorted through the shoes she had with her. Where were the ones that she never wore because they were too high to walk in? She found them at the bottom of the suitcase, dangerously tall spikes made of black leather.

Any minute now. She hobbled across the room and looked to where his eyes would go first when he opened the door. There was couch right in view of the doorway. She poured a drink to stead her nerves and carefully walked over to the couch, sitting on it, then getting up and leaning on it, trying to find a pose that seemed like it would look good, finally deciding on perching on the top of it with her legs to the side, slightly bent at the knee.

The door opened, she arched her back a little and flicked her hair, looking up with a smile. She was looking forward to seeing the shock on his face.

He was shocked all right, as were the two men and the woman that were standing next to him. Caroline screamed and dropped her drink, flinging herself behind the back of the couch to hide. She peeked her head up to see four mouths hanging open.

Klaus blinked a few times, trying to register what he just saw. "Could you three wait in the hallway so I can have a moment with the Queen?"

The woman practically ran past him into the hallway, but both of the men stayed frozen in place, still gaping at the girl hiding sheepishly behind the couch.

"Now" he added, and they walked out, closing the door behind them.

She hesitantly stood up.

"I'm thinking a new rule is in order" He grinned. "From now on you should always greet me at the door like this."

He dodged a shoe that went crashing into the wall behind him, and caught the second one that flew towards his stomach.

"Anything else you want to take off and throw at me?"

She shoved him when he reached towards her "How could you bring them here and not warn me! This is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me!"

"I didn't expect you to..." he was just staring, unable to finish his thought

"To what?"

"Um. just give me a minute." He had lost focus of their conversation and was looking at the tiny lace contraption she was wearing.

"Klaus!"

He snapped out of it. "What?"

"Who are they?"

"Who?"

"Uh, the people you brought in here just a minute ago."

"Oh, right. A few members of the pack I brought back to do a few errands. I wanted to introduce them to you before dropping them off in their room for the night."

"You wanted to introduce them to me right now? When I was obviously dying to see you and waiting for you to get back so I could tear your clothes off?"

"I didn't expect you to get right down to it like that. I was predicting more sulking and sweatpants. This was a very nice surprise."

"Now you have those guys sired to you forever and they'll always know me as your weirdo naked girlfriend."

"Weres are used to nudity" he shrugged "It's not like the clothes stay in place when they change. Besides, you aren't completely naked... yet."

"Aren't you supposed to be all jealous and possessive that your pack members just saw me like this?"

"Yes, I'm very upset that they know how lucky I am to have someone who looks like you welcoming me back dressed like that" he mocked.

She rolled her eyes.

"You called me the Queen."

He looked confused "You are the queen."

"You can't be serious."

"I'm always serious."

"There's nothing to be the queen of. I don't want people calling me that."

"Not people, hybrids. You'll learn to love it. Besides, our pack is going to get rather large, and you should have some sort of title that indicates your station."

"I'm not in your stupid pack and there are no stations you medieval weirdo!"

"Whatever you say love."

She shook her head. He was impossible. The one thing they always bumped heads over was that she was a total control freak and he was always going to do what he wanted no matter what she said. It made her want to tear her hair out. The last thing she needed were a bunch of German werewolves calling her their queen.

"Did you miss me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She pulled him in for a long kiss. He was a stubborn headstrong bastard, but he was her stubborn headstrong bastard. He pulled her closer, letting his hand slide down to feel the tiny scrap of lace.

"Hey! Werewolves in the hallway!"

"They can wait."

"Be a nice alpha and let them go to their room"

"I'm not good at being nice."

"Just go" she shooed him out the door, backing away from view as he opened it.

He gave her one last longing look before stepping out. "I promise to be back alone, if that affects my chances of you putting those shoes back on and staying in that." he motioned at what she was wearing.

She smiled, knowing she had him wrapped around her finger. "Get back here in 20 minutes or I'm starting without you."


	15. Chapter 15

"Where to now?" she asked, a little annoyed. They hadn't even gotten to spend a month in Germany, there was still so much more she wanted to see.

"Thailand" he said, looking up from the letter. "There's a very large pack out there I would particularly like to acquire. A lot of them have military training and I've heard the pack controls a lot of the more refined criminal organizations in the area. Very useful stuff."

"Are you going to spend all your time training them and testing sire bonds again?"

"Caroline, I came back to you every night after the first few days."

"And I spent every day alone in a place where I don't speak the language."

"Just give it time, please. I'll take a break after we get this pack trained. Next full moon after this one, I'm all yours."

"Yeah, you and fifty new werewolves."

"I'll give them the night off to go celebrate not having to turn if they don't want to. Then you and I can have some real fun."

She used every trick in her book to make him feel as guilty as possible for it, but by the night before the next full moon, they were in Thailand, and he was leaving again. He was taking most of the German pack with him to wrangle the new Weres, but he left two of the women behind with Caroline.

He said they were to keep her company, but she knew bodyguards when she saw them. Now, if only she could get them to stop calling her 'My Queen'. It made her feel gross to have people act like her servants.

She was going to have to have a serious talk with him about the way he was handling the hybrids. It didn't seem right. She remembered how helpless she felt when Tyler started acting all weird and obedient to Klaus.

_Write 'Hybrid Bill of Rights'_ she noted in her head, trying to think of some fair guidelines she could persuade him to follow.

1. never ask them to bite their girlfriends

2. give them vacations

3. don't force them to leave their loved ones behind forever

4. don't make them call me the queen

She would have to come up with the rest later. The two hybrid ladies hanging out in her room were chatting with each other, so she wandered into the bedroom to call Rebecca.

"Well if it isn't my favorite sister-in-law."

"Chill, Becca, Klaus and I are nowhere near married."

"That's not how he describes things."

"Cut it out, Becca, he does not."

"You don't think he acts like you're his wife?"

"Um, no. We haven't even been together that long. It's not that serious."

"The title he gave you suggests otherwise."

"Title?"

"How does it feel being a queen?"

"Ugh, I can't believe he told you that. How obnoxious."

Rebecca laughed. "I'll be the queen if you don't want it, it sounds fun."

"It's not, I don't want to be involved in all his hybrid-"

**ringring**

She furrowed her brow. That was his ringtone, the sound that mimicked an old telephone. She had put it on his phone as a joke, because he was so old.

"Becca, I think I just heard.."

**ringring**

"Oh no." Caroline picked the phone off the bathroom counter. He must have forgotten it. "Becca, he left his phone here, and Kol is calling. Can you tell him that Klaus will call him back in a few days?"

"Kol isn't here" Rebecca responded. "He left a few days ago but wouldn't tell me where."

"Becca, just stay on the phone, I'm going to answer it"

"Hello?" she answered hesitantly

"Niklaus?" The voice on the other side seemed weak and scratchy.

"Kol, it's Caroline. He's not here."

"No. I need him."

"Kol, he left his phone behind. It'll be another two or three days before he's back."

"Shit."

"Kol what's going on?"

"I messed up. It's bad."

"Where are you?"

"Canada, somewhere with lots of trees, I don't know what this town is called.. "

"Use the GPS thingie on your phone, send the info to me."

"Caroline...you can't help. Only he can.."

"Kol, tell me what's going on."

"I found the pack, I wanted to surprise him."

"Werewolves?"

"I got most of them boxed up, I was going to send them to him in a shipping container, all wrapped up in a bow. He would have thought it was funny. One of them escaped and they..."

"They bit you?"

"Yeah, that bastard mutt bit me right on the ass."

Caroline felt the chain around her neck. He had slipped the necklace around her neck again when he had walked out earlier that day. The vial of his blood.

"Kol. Listen to me, I can help. Just send me your location and I'll be there with the cure as soon as possible."

"Damn phone.. I don't know how to do a thing with it..."

"Kol, for god's sake compel a teenager to help you with it. And get to a blood bank before you start to get too out of it."

"Out of it?"

"Kol, it's going to get bad and then worse. You'll hallucinate and get crazy with bloodlust if it goes on for a few days. I'll get there as soon as possible but I'm halfway across the world. Just stock up on blood and find a way to send me your coordinates."

She hung up with him and picked her phone back up.

"Becca, we have a serious problem."

Caroline scrambled to find her shoes. She needed to get out of there right away. the two hybrid ladies in the room had heard everything. They were muttering under their breath to each other about the best way to help her. They were supposed to call Klaus if anything went wrong, but he left his phone.

Caroline stepped in.

"Ok, I know the boss said you have to guard me, but he needs to know about this, so one of you comes with me and the other goes to him to let him know whats going on."

They nodded and decided between them who would do what.

She heard a beep, Kol had figured out a way to send his coordinates. She scribbled them down on some paper and handed Klaus's phone back to one of the hybrids.

"Bring this to him. Tell him I'm on my way to this location, and I'm bringing Kol the cure." She looked over to the other woman "We need to get to an airport that charters private planes and I really hope the pilots aren't on vervain."

* * *

Caroline thanked every possible deity that the pilots weren't on vervain. She was able to compel one to give her a free ride to Kol, showing him the coordinates where he would be. They could land within a few miles of where he was, although they'd have to make a stop to refuel at a halfway point.

She was pacing around the little plane, it was only about ten chairs and a tiny aisle. The hybrid lady looked stressed. It was her job to keep Caroline safe and she didn't know what he would do to her if anything happened. Probably kill her, but she doubted it would be quick.

Caroline checked her phone. Thankfully flying private meant being able to talk on your phone. Kol had sent a text with the name of the hotel he was staying in and letting her know he had gotten a stock of blood bags.

She called him anyway.

"Caroline?"

"How're you feeling, Kol?"

"How do you think I feel?"

"Sorry, I get it, I was bitten once too. Klaus helped me within a few hours of it happening. But with Damon, it was a few days before he got the blood, and he started to act rabid and attack random people in public."

"I'm an original, Caroline. I know how to look after myself."

"Says the guy with the werewolf bite on his ass."

"Oh, kiss it."

"Hold on a few more hours, you dick."

She heard someone come in the room. "Uh, not you." Kol muttered.

Elijah's voice was in the background "Kol, I understand that you were bitten, but does the bite need to be on display?"

Rebecca grabbed the phone from Kol. "Caroline? Elijah and I just got here. Thanks for sending the location. We'll make sure he stays put until you get here."

"Pants, Kol!" she could hear Elijah bark at his brother.

"Kiss my festering ass, Elijah!"

* * *

Klaus looked out at the campsite. The Thai Weres had all been fed his blood and had their necks snapped, now they were gradually starting to wake up. He walked around, forcing them to drink the little bottles of Elena's blood, while the German hybrids walked around making sure none of the new pack members freaked out too much or went on a rampage. It took some of them a minute and others more like a half hour, but eventually they all became hybrids.

Now they were all awake and he had to give his little speech about how he now controlled the pack, sire bond this, compulsion that, sort out who was in charge before so he could get them to do his bidding for the group of them in his absence, it was all going well.

He wanted to spend the next day seeing what their talents were, who was fast, who was strong, who was smart or well connected.

He had pulled the old alpha aside to discuss the new order and figure out how he would be relaying information to the pack. They were chatting amiably, it was really something how well the sire bond worked.

One of the women he placed with Caroline was running towards him holding his phone.

Shit. He had left it in the hotel. Seriously Caroline, you didn't have to send her out here to bring it, it isn't that big of a deal, there's probably no reception anyway.

The hybrid woman looked worried.

"What happened?" he growled. If anything happened to Caroline when he was gone he'd leave a trail of bodies from here to wherever the person who harmed her stood, and he would rip them limb from limb.

"It's someone named Kol. Caroline went to help him. He needed something he thought he could only get from you, but she said she had it. I think it was her necklace, she kept holding it and looking at it when she talked to him. She told me to tell you everything. The location for Kol is in a message on your phone."

He felt himself flush with anger. How could she be so stupid to go running into danger like that? And what was Kol thinking, allowing himself to get bitten?

"You, you and you" he pointed "Watch over everything while I'm gone." he pointed to a few of the Germans he felt were already well trained. "You lot are coming with me."

He was running. There were no cars out here, it was the middle of nowhere. He didn't know how long the hybrid took to get to him, but whatever that was combined with the time it took him to get back to town would equal the head start she had.

Why didn't she just wait for him? What if Kol went rabid and tried to hurt her?

Because Kol could actually die from this. Even originals can be affected by werewolf bites. She would never sit idly by and let one of his siblings suffer.

He hated her compassion. It was going to get her killed.

Every minute dragged by as if it was an hour as he ran to civilization, found a car to drive to the closest private airport, and got a flight out to where Caroline was headed. As soon as he could force himself to sit still he called her.

"Caroline."

"Oh, good. I guess you know whats going on?"

"How could you leave without me, you should have waited."

"This is Kol. I'm not going to risk him dying. You were right to give me that necklace with the blood, I'm just not the person who needed it."

"What if you get there and the same werewolf attacks you?"

"You're on your way right behind me. I'll be fine for a few hours. For Kol, each hour makes him more dangerous and closer to actually dying. I won't let him die."

"You can't just put yourself at risk like this!"

"I took one of your hybrids with me! And Elijah and Becca beat me to him. They'll keep him under control until I get there."

Klaus was burning with fury at the idea of Caroline running ahead into such a dangerous situation. He also felt envy that she and his siblings all ran to Kol when he needed them. Would they have done the same for the brother who put them in boxes for decades at a time?

"Caroline, I can't believe you would do this. The Were that bit him could come back. You could be attacked. You could be..."

"You'll be here soon. I'll be with three originals once I arrive. I think between them and me we can take care of ourselves for the few hours before you arrive."

"Don't ever do something this foolish again."

"Don't ever tell me to sit by and let your family get hurt."

"You're being reckless."

"I'll be careful. See you soon. I love you."

He balled his fists in anger but he kept his voice soft. "I love you too. Be careful."

Caroline ran through the airport wit her ear to the phone, listening to the precise directions Elijah was giving her. Kol was getting worse. Time was running out.

She ran into the middle of the street and held her necklace in her palm to protect it in case a car hit her. One screeched to a halt right in front of her. The driver looked alarmed and began to ask her if she needed help but she just compelled him to give her the car and walk away.

She was running again, out of the car, into the hotel, up the stairs. She pounded on the door and Elijah flung it open.

Rebecca was sitting on the bed, pressing a damp washcloth to his forehead. He looked terrible, all pale and sallow and sweaty. He was worse than she had gotten when she was bit.

"Princess?" He croaked out.

"It's Caroline, dummy" Rebecca chided "Remember, it's the 21st century."

Caroline was uncorking the vial and Rebecca propped Kol's head up on her lap while Caroline forced him to drink down the blood.

Elijah came closer and they all watched him for signs of healing. It felt like hours had passed before any signs of change appeared. They all just sat on the bed, watching him and waiting.

* * *

Kol woke up from his nap to look at three pairs of eyes staring back at him.

"Well if I knew this was all it took to have a slumber party with Caroline, I would have gotten bitten a lot sooner."

"Are you better?" Rebecca asked, ignoring his bawdy remark.

"I feel better." He said, slowly standing up on the bed. He turned around and flashed his bare ass at all of them. Elijah made a retching noise and Caroline nearly rolled off the bed in disgust.

"No bite?" Kol asked, turning to examine his own rear.

"No bite! Put it away!" Shouted Rebecca.

Kol sat back down on the bed, amused by the reactions he was getting.

"Well, Caroline, I'm a little disappointed Niklaus didn't show up himself, but I approve of his choice of messenger."

"He'll be here soon."

"I warrant a visit from the original hybrid? How charming!"

The door slapped off it's hinges and collapsed into the room. Klaus stepped in followed by six hybrids.

"Charming indeed, Kol" Klaus responded with a stern look. He walked over to Caroline and placed a protective kiss on her forehead. He turned back to Kol "Show me the bite. Have you healed?"

"No!" Rebecca shouted, covering her eyes, but it was too late. Kol had jumped up again and was wiggling his bare ass for everyone to see.

"All good, Nik!" he smiled and slapped it "Want a closer look?"

Klaus shoved Kol over and Kol hiked his pants back up.

"What were you doing around werewolves anyway?"

"A present for you! You do have a birthday coming up soon."

"You got me a werewolf? Have you lost your mind?"

"A whole pack, actually. Well, minus the one that ran away and bit me. But the rest are still in a storage container on the dock. I left some food in there with them, all ready for you wrapped up in a bow."

Klaus smiled as he shook his head. Kol meant well, but sometimes he could be so impulsive and stupid.

"Caroline, can we be alone?"

She tried to read his expression, not being able to tell if he was still mad or relieved.

"One thing first." She smiled. "Go sit over there with your siblings."

Klaus sat on the edge of the bed next to Elijah, with Rebecca and Kol sitting up by the headboard. He looked back at Caroline for an explanation.

She pulled the camera out of her pocket. "Smile"

**click**

Klaus scowled. Elijah rolled his eyes.

"Ok, fine, a serious stoic vampire one"

**click**

"and one more. Smile this time. That means you Elijah."

**click.**

Just as she hit the button, Kol had jumped up and flashed his ass again, causing Rebecca to recoil in horror as Elijah and Klaus gave weak smiles.

She looked at the picture and clapped a hand over her mouth, trying to hide her laughter.

"What is it?" Elijah demanded.

"Nothing, I just think this might be the greatest family portrait ever."

* * *

Klaus wanted to get out of the room as soon as possible. He wanted to tear into her about being so foolish but he wouldn't do it in front of the others. He said hurried goodbyes to his siblings and went down to the front desk to book a room for him and Caroline and another two for the hybrids he brought with them. He sent half of the hybrids to go look for the escaped werewolf and told the other half to sleep until it was time for them to switch shifts.

"Alone at last" Caroline said with a smile as they entered the room.

"Are you insane? Coming here without me? Walking right into the territory of an angry werewolf?"

"I did it to save Kol, I can't believe you're really mad about this."

"I'm furious! I can't lose you!"

She stomped over to him and hugged him tight. He just scowled and refused to hug back.

"Everything is fine. You haven't lost me."

She kissed him, but he just stood there and didn't kiss back. He didn't look as furious as he was when they walked into the room, more pouty. She tried to kiss him again, but he wasn't having it. He just stood there. Eventually he took a step back from her and sat on the edge of the bed, refusing to look at her.

"Really? You're that mad?"

Silence.

"Fine, be a statue. I was hoping to have some fun in this room with my boyfriend, but I guess I'll just have to make do with a statue instead."

She climbed onto the bed and sat behind him, kissing the back of his neck and along his ears. He stayed perfectly still. Time to break out a bigger move.

"I'm going to turn some music on" she said, flipping thorough her phone. "Normally, I'd ask Klaus what he'd like to listen to, but statues don't have opinions, so.."

She landed on something slow and sexy on an R&B station and propped the phone up so the music was loud enough.

She danced slowly across the room, exaggerating the movements of her hips as she walked towards him. Once she got directly in front of him she slowly pealed her shirt off, revealing a navy bra with gold rhinestones.

She caught him looking at her, but he still was staying perfectly still.

It would take a little more than some boobs to rile him up today. She let her hands slide up and down his thighs and continued to dance in front of him, taking a step back to slowly remove her pants, so she was only in her bra and underwear.

His eyes traveled her body, but he wasn't going to give in to her little game just yet. He wanted to see what she would do next. She straddled his lap and continued to dance to the music, hovering just inches above him, allowing her hands to wander all over him.

Slowly she brought herself closer to him, until she was pressing against him, grinding into him to the beat of the music. She saw his lip twitch a little bit as she pushed her core against his lap, moving up and down, and she knew she would get some reaction out of him soon.

She worked her hips against him and slipped her hands under his shirt, moving across his chest. She knew he could feel the heat of her arousal as she pushed against him, and the more she glided across him, the more she could feel the bulge in his pants grow bigger and harder.

He was starting to forget why he had bothered to be mad at her. He could never be mad when she moved across him like that. He was ready to give in, devour her mouth and rake his hands all over her body, and get rid of the pesky layers of fabric that separated them.

She must have read his mind because the hands she had under his shirt were pulling it up. He obliged and let her move his arms so she could life the shirt off. She followed that move by reaching back and unhooking her bra, tossing it to the ground.

She lifted off him a little, for the first time stopping the grinding motions she was making on his lap. He reached over and tried to push her back, but she swatted his hand away and reached for the button of his pants.

_Even better_.

She was hovering over him, one hand stroking him while the other landed in his hair as she sucked on and kissed his neck.

"Caroline."

"Hmm, I thought statues didn't talk."

"Caroline, please." he felt like he was about to burst, with the feeling of her hand on him. He needed to be inside her now.

"Still mad?" she purred in his ear.

"Not mad."

"Good."

She met his eye and flashed a playful smile as she pushed the underwear she was still wearing to the side and guided him into her.

He loved the face she always made when he first filled her up. It was heavenly to see the pleasure on her face like that and know it was all because of him.

She was gripping on tight, sliding herself up and down on him, and he put a hand on her waist to guide her. He pushed into her deeper and she let out a gasp. Little cries were falling from her lips and he pumped into her harder, forcing the movement of her hips with his hands. He needed to be in control. Wrapping an arm around her back, he flipped her over so he was on top. He felt her legs start to wrap around his waist and pulled on one of her ankles to prop it against his shoulder.

The position felt so good, and he ran a hand down her soft, flexible leg that came to rest on his shoulder as he watched her face for the clues of what motions she liked the best.

He was ready, but he never let himself finish without getting her off first. He tried a few different angles, and found one that made her eyes go wide and her grip on him tighten. He repeated it, over and over as she trembled and whispered his name, her voice getting louder as she got closer, until she was screaming for him and shaking all around him. As she came, he let himself go and pulled her closer as he felt his own release wash through his body.

They slowly separated and she rested against his side while he stroked her hair.

"That's a really good way to remedy me being angry with you, love. I suggest you try it on all occasions."

"mmm, no way. Next time I get to be mad at you, and you can try to make it up to me."

"I think that can be arranged, although I'm not quite the dancer you are."

"I'm sure you'll think of something."

"I always do." he smiled, leaning over to kiss her forehead.


	16. Chapter 16

** A/N Hey everyone! I know it's been a long time since I've updated this story (especially since I've been focusing on writing Heartbeat, which is almost finished, by the way) but I'm back and Klaus and Caroline have a whole new set of challenges ahead of them. I've jumped ahead several years in their relationship. Anyway, I hope you like it, please read and review!**

* * *

It had been five years. Five years of living on the road, constantly in search of the next pack and checking in on the old ones.

He had told her they'd be able to travel less if she just let him move all the hybrids to one location, but she wouldn't allow it. They were people with families and lives and she wouldn't let him force them to leave everything.

The rules were simple enough, the hybrids were allowed to go back to living their lives for the most part, they just had to pay attention to occasional updates from him about what to be on the lookout for, the occasional stake out or simple mission. Some of the most talented or useful hybrids were asked to join the two of them as their royal guard, but the post was one that they would only hold for a year before returning to their families with a huge amount of money. Caroline had insisted on that. He would make sure to visit each pack once a year to ensure they were still sired, update them on their global army's progress, and discuss the pack's progress with their local second in command.

If there was even an all out war, the hybrids would have to drop everything and follow him for however long it took to crush their enemy. It was the one big rule he wouldn't budge on, even with her pestering. Luckily for them, it had never been an issue. A few Were packs or Vampires had stepped up to challenge him, but a single pack had wiped out each challenger with no trouble, and once word got around, he had become truly untouchable. Anyone who knew who he was shook with fear at the mention of his name. Everywhere they went, the wealthiest and most powerful people in the supernatural world threw lavish gifts at them and promised to indulge any favor he would ask. Witches flocked to them, eager to join up with the winning team.

She loved him, he was the center of her world. Sure she occasionally saw Bonnie or Elena or the Salvatores, and his siblings were with them a lot of the time, but he was the one person she was closest to.

So it was with a heavy heart that Caroline looked out the window at the full moon. the center of her world was out there somewhere, doing hybrid business, and she was all alone. Again.

At exactly one minute past midnight her phone rang.

"Hey, birthday girl!" Rebekah said.

"Becca!" She smiled. "You're the first to wish me a happy birthday."

"Oh, I beat Elijah? Bonnie, even?" She beamed. "Now you have to tell Kol I'm your favorite sibling, he'll just die."

"I don't play favorites with Klaus's family." She smiled.

"Cut it out, you're our family too. At least say I'm your favorite sister."

"Fine. You're my favorite sister."

"That's better. Now how's my darling brother? I waited a whole minute to give him time to wish you a happy birthday first, I know he'd hate to be upstaged."

Caroline looked out the window. "Actually, he hasn't called yet."

"What? Wait, did I mess up the time zone thing? I' know there are so many of them in Russia. It is just past midnight where you are, right?"

"Yeah. He's just out. I don't know, probably busy with a pack meeting."

"He isn't there?"

"No." Caroline sighed.

"Oh, we'll I'm sure he'll be back any minute. He probably left his phone in the hotel, you know how he does that."

"Yeah." Caroline agreed, not really believing it.

She chatted with Rebekah a few more minutes, constantly checking her phone to see if there was a text or call waiting, anything at all. There were three texts, all from Damon. When she hung up with Rebekah she checked them.

**Hey Blondiebarbiegirl Queen of all Hybrids, Happy Birthday have asdet drinky for mee**

** iIvve beedns drinkigig lots to celebrtate youuu**

** Oh my god Care. I just took away Damon's phone. He's such a mess sometimes. This is Elena. Happy Birthday. I'll call you in the morning. **

She smiled down at the phone and put it on the table next to her, still waiting for the one call she really wanted. Usually he spends the entire month before her birthday teasing and tormenting her with little hints about what he would surprise her with. Every birthday he had been with her the whole day, no matter what pack business needed attending to. this year he hadn't mentioned it once. It was like he just forgot.

She didn't want to believe it. He just had some crazy secret plan he was going to spring on her at the last minute. This was all an act. He had spent the last few weeks ignoring her and getting obsessive with pack stuff again all as an act. When he ignored the hurt that crossed her face when he went out to a pack meeting earlier that night, it was all part of his big surprise.

She waited and waited.

There was a knock at the door and she bolted to it, pulling it open. The hybrid woman on the other side smiled at her and motioned towards the luggage rack stacked high with gift boxes.

Caroline felt a drop in the pit of her stomach. She had wanted it to be him.

She put on her best Miss Mystic Falls smile and invited the girl in, hugging her. She always made fast friends with they Hybrids that worked in her Queen's guard, and tried to show them the best hospitality. She also tried to pretend the weren't always on their toes, terrified to upset her and incur his wrath. As much as she begged them to be natural and speak their minds, they never really could. How could they let their guard down and risk upsetting the most powerful man on earth's queen?

She opened the gifts and took a moment to appreciate each one.

Bonnie had sent these amazing candles she had bewitched so the flames would dance to the beat of whatever music was playing. Stefan had sent her a suitcase full of her favorite cookies. Elena made her a photo album that mapped out their lifetime friendship, even including the trip they all had taken last year. Damon, being his typical self, had sent her a barbie doll he fastened fangs on to.

The originals always gave amazing gifts. Elijah sent her a first edition copy of Dracula, Rebekah had sent an impossibly expensive purse. She didn't even need to open Kol's box to know what it was. He sent her the same gift every christmas and birthday, racy underwear. It always earned him a screaming match with Klaus, but Kol seemed to find it funny anyway and kept doing it.

There wasn't anything from him. Of course, he was still playing this little game. He'd show up soon enough and find some new way to amaze her.

More waiting. Lots of waiting.

She must have fallen asleep with the TV on, because when she woke up it was already early afternoon and a soap opera was playing in an language she didn't know. This was their third trip to Russia and she still hadn't managed to learn more than how to say please and thank you.

She paced around the room all day, taking phone calls from her mother, Bonnie, Matt, a very hungover Damon. Kol even called asking if she got his gift and he was wondering if she could possibly let him know how it fit. She hung up on him and called Elena.

Elena seemed distracted but sympathetic. It was strange that he was drawing this out so long. She bitched on the phone to Elena, hoping she would join in on the Klaus bashing, but it never came. Instead, it was a lot of hopeful excuses about why he could possible be taking so long.

There was a shift in the last few years in how her friends talked about Klaus. They used to openly hate him, then they begrudgingly tolerated him for her sake. Now, they never spoke a bad word about him. She wished it was because he won them over by showing them the good in him, but she knew it wasn't true. They were afraid. There wasn't a single person or vampire he couldn't have dead within hours, even if he was on the other side of the world. He had promised her he would never hurt her loved ones, but with the distant way he had been acting lately, she wasn't sure if she believed him completely. From the way Elena scrambled to make excuses for him, Caroline thought she probably didn't believe it either.

More waiting and waiting.

She called the hybrids guarding her up to her room and ordered cake and champagne from room service and they all ate and drank and danced. It would have been really fun, if it hadn't been something she concocted to distract herself from him not calling.

Rebekah called again, asking if she liked the purse. When Caroline mentioned that Klaus was still gone, Rebekah scrambled for excuses before finding a reason to get off the line.

Midnight came again. He had missed her entire birthday.

She woke up to him coming back to the room at six in the morning, reaching in his pocket to take his keys and phone out and put them on the table. So he did have his phone with him. He just couldn't be bothered to call.

"Hey." He smiled, sitting on the bed next to her and kissing her forehead.

She looked up at him. There was never going to be a last minute surprise. He had simply forgotten.

"Hey." She whispered, trying to keep a straight face.

"I'm just going to take a quick shower, be right back." He said, patting her shoulder as he got up.

She felt stunned, but knew this was her window. She had to act quick.

She couldn't believe her legs didn't give out as she walked down the hall, through the lobby.

One of her hybrid guards stood up as she passed.

"I'm just getting some coffee for him." She smiled.

The guard started to follow, but she insisted they stay behind. The hybrid looked wary, but he did say their number one rule was to respect the Queen's wishes, so they gave her a nod and sat back down.

She went to the bank and withdrew her entire account in cash. Then she want to the atm and unloaded as much as she could of her other account into cash as well. She was in a taxi to the airport before he even stepped out of the water.

She stood at the gate looking at all the possible flights before picking one. She wanted to get as far away as possible.

* * *

He dried off and wrapped the towel around his waist. This pack had been more trouble than he expected, and there were two more were packs trying to challenge him at the same time. He never wanted her to worry, so he tried to hide it all from her. She always worried so much. After the last few days, it shouldn't be a problem anymore, but he was still concerned.

He looked around the room and didn't see her. Her phone was on the nightstand, she must be somewhere in the suite. He wandered around the suite looking for her. There were a bunch of empty cups scattered around the living room and a tiny piece of cake. He noticed the stack of presents in the corner of the room and cringed before he even looked at the first card.

**Happy Birthday Caroline!**

He looked at each one, as if he needed extra confirmation for what he already knew. Of course. Her Birthday. How could he let himself get so wrapped up in the pack business that something so important could escape him?

He ran downstairs and almost snapped the hybrid waiting there in half.

"Where is she?" He growled.

"Getting you coffee. She said to stay here."

"I don't even drink coffee, you imbecile!" He flung the hybrid across the room, attracting far too much attention from the humans in the room. "Find her! Tell the entire guard to look for her!"

He ran out into the busy streets, unsure of which way to turn.

* * *

She was in the middle of the busy airport, it seemed like the entire population of Moscow had been running through these halls. People bumped into her and didn't bother to turn around and apologize. That was good. It meant the didn't know who she was. The longest flight without a stopover went to Australia.

There was no possible way for her to fall asleep on the flight. She fidgeted and tapped her foot the whole time, looking over her shoulder, expecting a hybrid to pop up and drag her back to him, but she got there without any problems.

It was sunny when she landed. Once she was outside the airport she managed to compel a car away from someone and she just drove and drove for hours, trying to get farther away. Eventually she stopped at a roadside diner to grab something to eat.

She was worried. It seemed like everyone was looking at her. Was it because she was a pretty blonde girl all alone out here or because they recognized her face? She had gone with him to visit some of the packs, and their royal guard rotated so much. There were thousands of hybrids around the world who knew her face and even more who had heard about her.

He would have sent them looking by now. It wasn't in his nature to just let her run away. She knew it was only a matter of time before she was spotted and someone pulled her, kicking and screaming back to him. A nasty thought twisted through her mind. What would happen once he got her back? Would he sit her down and have a rational conversation about the state of their relationship?_ Not bloody likely_, she thought and hated that she could hear his voice inside her head. He would be furious, enraged by her impulsive decision, putting herself in danger by being away from him, bruising his ego for having the gall to run away.

_ He might actually kill me, _she thought. _Why did I run? I love him. I do. But this isn't the life I thought we would have. _

A man sitting a few booths away from her was staring. She smiled hesitantly at him and went back to her food. She saw him turn his head to the side and scrunch his brow. It was like he was trying to place where he knew her from. She put some money on the table and got out of there before he could figure it out.

She had mere minutes before the man figured out who she was and called the pack. Whoever brought her back to him would be rewarded substantially, and she was sure that anyone who saw her without alerting him would be punished with death or worse.

There was a store across the street. She grabbed clothes off the rack and a box of hair dye. She found an out of order sign to prop outside the bathroom door and locked herself in. She stripped everything off and mixed the components together and rubbed the mixture in her hair. While she waited for the dye to work she took all of her old clothes and stuffed them in one of the toilet tanks.

A half hour later she rinsed the dye out and squeezed the excess water out of her hair. She didn't look half bad as a redhead, and no one searching for the blonde queen would look twice. She changed into the clothes, definitely not her style, but it was better that way, and she caked heavy black eye makeup on, hoping it would make her face look less like whatever picture of her was floating around.

She double checked the room. If or when they found her clothes they would know she was here. She scrubbed the sink to hide any trace of the red dye and took all the wrappers and bottles from the dye kit with her in a plastic bag. She stole a different car on her way out and drove most of the four hours back to the airport before stopping on the side of the road to burn the garbage from the dye kit until it was an unrecognizable pile of ash and burnt plastic. Just to be safe, she buried it.

She wouldn't go to Mystic Falls but she stood out as an American whenever she was abroad so she hopped on a plane to a part of the country he wouldn't expect her to go to.

Compulsion and cash only the whole way, she managed to get through customs without having to take out her passport. She walked through the airport picking up the smell of hybrids circulating around. He was smart. He knew she was running and he put them in every airport on the planet, waiting to grab her wherever she landed. A few of them picked up the scent of vampire as they mulled around, but it was crowded and impossible to tell who it was. She could see eyes surveying the crowded halls for a blonde woman, scanning right past her.

It wasn't worth the risk, calling anyone she knew. It would only put them in danger. But she needed to find somewhere to stay, somewhere that it wouldn't seem out of place for a girl who looked like she was 17 to be alone.

She marched up the steps of the old brick building and thanked her lucky stars it was just the right week out of the year. Showing up on the first day was far less suspicious than coming in halfway through the semester.

How had she ever lived before she could compel people? Someone was registering her for classes, another person out shopping for dorm supplies, and yet another clearing a spot for her on campus housing. She always saw herself going to college, but life had other plans. He had other plans.

She looked out the window of the tiny cinderblock room at all the other students lugging boxes and bags back and forth and smiled. No matter how fleeting, she had pulled it off. She got away.

* * *

Halfway around the world Klaus was tearing through the streets of Moscow looking for her, when a familiar face caught his eye across the street. He had circled through the entire city and ended up back at their hotel.

"Kol!" He shouted, and his brother turned around to look at him. Kol smiled and waved while Klaus stormed over to him.

"Where is she?" He shouted, slamming Kol against a brick wall, causing a few bricks to crack and crumble.

Kol just looked back at him, stunned.

"Are you helping her?" Klaus demanded.

Kol looked confused. He took a moment to observed his brother, something was very off. Klaus was sweating like he ran a marathon and his face.. it was an emotion Kol forgot Klaus could even have. He looked afraid.

"What? I was bored, I decided to pay a visit to your better half, see if she liked my present. Isn't answering her phone, though."

"She's gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Kol asked.

"Gone. She left. I don't think she's in the city at all."

Kol's face turned serious. "Someone took her? Who would be so stupid? How did the guards not stop it?"

"No." Klaus shook his head. "She choose to leave me. She's mad about something... it was a stupid mistake. She just left."

He felt a rage unlike anything he's ever experienced building inside him. How could she do this to him? She had to know he would come after her. He would rip the world to shreds, burn cities to ashes, kill anyone who dared stand in his way until she was back in his arms.

* * *

**A/N And we're back! How long do you think she can hide out before he finds her? I'm planning on using a character who was a female vampire who didn't really interact with Caroline on the show to be Caroline's friend at college. Should it be Anna, Lexi, or Rose? Leave requests in the comments! **


	17. Chapter 17

Caroline thanked the woman she had compelled to bring her all her stuff for the dorm. She let out an excited squeal as she started setting up all her books, sheets, a few clothing essentials. She's have to go shopping soon, these clothes weren't really her style, all sweats and t shirts with the college logo on them.

A stack of boxes fell into the room. Caroline whipped around to see someone crawling out from under them. The girl with dark curly hair gave her an embarrassed smile and dusted herself off.

"Marie." She smiled, introducing herself. "I guess we're roommates."

"I'm Care-" She stopped herself. Not so smart to use her real name. "Uh. Carrie." She looked over at her shelf at her stack of books for class and spotted Jane Eyre first. "Carrie Bronte."

"Cool." The girl smiled. She opened up the first of her boxes and started to unroll a poster. She held it up for Caroline to see, looking for approval before hanging it up. "Do you like Ryan Gosling?"

"Not like. Love." Caroline laughed.

"I guess I can share my imaginary boyfriend Mr. Gosling." Marie joked, rifling through her things before pulling out another. "Besides, theres always my other imaginary boyfriend, Tom Hardy."

Caroline smiled. "Nice choice."

Marie held up the poster and sighed. "I have such a weakness for British accents."

"Me too." Caroline laughed. "My boy-" She cut herself off. She wanted to smack herself for blabbing so much, but she was nervous with the new roommate chatter and didn't know how to keep her mouth shit.

"Oh, you have a boyfriend?" Marie asked.

"I did. Uh, we broke up kind of recently."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up a sore subject."

"No, it's ok. I'm just still kind of getting used to it, thats all."

Marie nodded and went back to unpacking quietly. They broke the silence occasionally to talk about where to put the microwave and tv Marie brought or what their class schedules were like. Caroline silently wondered if she should find some vervain to slip in Marie's food. Would that be the ethical thing for a vampire roommate to do?

Another girl knocked on their open doorway and ran up to Marie and hugged her.

"Hey girl! Can you believe we're on the same floor?"

Marie hugged her back and introduced the two.

"Jess, this is my roommate Carrie. Carrie this is Jess, we took a summer course here and it was such a relief to have another normal person to talk to.

"Yeah, it was a bunch of total nerds." Jess smiled. "Marie and I were the only ones who knew how to have fun."

She flopped down on Marie's bed and started flipping through her photos. "Oh, look, Carrie. This was at a house party we found just off campus. We'll have to take you there soon. Those guys were cool, right, Marie?"

Marie nodded, glancing over to Caroline to make sure she wasn't uncomfortable with Jess. Caroline realized that they were trying to see if she was the type to rat them out for bringing boys or alcohol into the dorms.

"Oh, sounds fun. I love parties." She smiled. "I meant to get some tequila before move in day, but I didn't know if I'd have a roommate that was ok with it..."

"Oh, I'm more than ok with it." Marie smiled. "In fact, I think you should meet my good friend Jose." She pulled a blender out of one of her boxes and set it on the microwave."

"A blender named Jose?" Caroline asked.

"Uh, he's a margarita maker, thank you very much." Marie joked.

Caroline felt a pang in her chest. These girls would be fun, but this was one of those experiences she wished she could have had with Bonnie and Elena. Even Rebekah or Kol would be so much fun to have around here. Bonnie went to college right after high school. She had so many fun stories about it, and Caroline couldn't wait to call her with some of her own. Her heart sank as soon as she let the thought cross her mind. She couldn't call Bonnie. She couldn't call anyone without putting them in danger.

"Oh! I forgot!" Jess said, snapping Caroline out of her thoughts. "I have the best roommate ever. You guys have to meet her. She has tons of refreshments for tonight and she told me to invite all the fun girls from the floor over to our room."

Caroline smiled and put her arm around Marie. "We're very fun."

"Then you have to show up." Jess smiled. "No boys tonight! Just girls from the floor. But tomorrow night, we're dressing slutty and walking down frat row to figure out just which frat house has the hottest guys."

"Done and done." Marie smiled.

Caroline got a flash of what the frat house would look like if Klaus showed up and saw any of them looking at her, much less touching her. She pushed it aside. He wouldn't find her here.

"I'm so in. I just need to go shopping before tomorrow night."

"Oh, no you don't" Jess insisted. "My roommate is about your size and she has the most amazing wardrobe. She's totally cool, I'm sure she'll let you borrow something."

"I have to meet this roommate." Caroline said.

* * *

Elijah opened the door to the hotel suite. Rebekah and Kol were already sitting inside. Klaus was pacing back and forth, checking his phone every five seconds. Hers was sitting on the table next to Rebekah. Kol had cracked the code instantly and rummaged through it for any hint of where she could have gone. There was nothing. Klaus had snapped it away before his brother could browse through her photos and Kol whined like a toddler at his missed opportunity to find possible scandalous photos.

"Elijah. Finally."

"I came as fast as I could. What's the latest update?"

"A call from Australia. She was spotted there a few days ago, the packs surveyed the area, the trail ran cold at the airport."

"So she could be anywhere?" Elijah asked.

Klaus gripped onto the table so hard it snapped.

"Yes." He growled.

Elijah stepped away from his brother. "I'm only going to say this once, because I know you won't like it, but someone has to say it. Have you considered the possibility that she doesn't want to be found?"

Elijah's head met the floor with such force that the tiles cracked. He blinked but didn't lose consciousness. Klaus was over him, snarling and glaring into his brother's eyes. After a moment he backed away, letting Elijah get back up but not softening his gaze.

Elijah dusted himself off and tried to act as dignified as someone could possibly act when the back of their head was gushing blood. "Very well. I won't mention it again. Just trying to keep her wishes in mind."

Klaus snapped his head back "I know exactly what her wishes are, Elijah. I'm the one who's been with her for the past five years! The nerve of you to presume to know what she wants."

Kol snorted.

"Not you too, Kol." Klaus hissed.

"I'm just saying, maybe she needs to cool off. She'll probably just come back when she's in need of a good hard..."

"Kol!" Rebekah scolded.

He shrugged. "We've all got needs."

"Nik, She loves you. But you hurt her. It's not just the birthday thing, although that was probably the last straw. She's been feeling neglected for a while now, you're always gone, and when you're around you're still focused on hybrid things." Rebekah said.

"She told you that?" He said, looking hurt.

Rebekah gave him a sad smile. "She didn't have to. She's like my sister now. I could hear it in the tone of her voice, see in in the look she gets when she talks about you."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying she misses you."

"Misses me, she's the one who left."

"No. She misses you even when you're right next to her. You're so wrapped up in hybrid things."

"You know, Becca, you spent centuries complaining to me about how we always have to run. Do you have to run anymore?"

"No." She muttered.

"Has anyone tried to cause you any harm in the past five years?"

"No."

"Has there been a single day where you didn't feel completely safe?"

"No."

"Exactly. All this hybrid business you have such a distaste for is the sole reason for your recent uptick in quality of life. All of you. And her."

"Nik. I'm not taking her side. I just want to help you see how it must look from her perspective."

"How can it look? Because to me it looks like she just left without so much as a note. She didn't talk to me about it. She didn't try to make things right. She just left."

"You know how impulsive she can be. You both are like that."

"I WOULD NEVER LEAVE HER!" He screamed, getting dangerously close to Rebekah's face, making her reel back in terror. "I would never do that! This isn't over!"

"Nik. you're scaring me."

"Good." he stormed across the window, looking out at the city. "She's out there somewhere. She's out there and she's alone. I don't know if there are weres or hunters or people who want to use her to get to me, but there are so many things out there."

"She's strong, Nik."

"Not strong enough. She's not like us. A regular wooden stake is enough to kill her. Someone taking her daylight ring is enough for her to be weakened and exposed. Even a tangle with another vampire... She's so young, and she still tries the animal blood thing sometimes... She could die so easily."

Rebekah hesitantly took a step closer. "We'll find her."

He nodded and looked back at his list.

"I've sent her picture out to every pack. They're on high alert and every member is expected to put in at least 80 hours a week looking for her. There are maps to make sure ever possible area is covered. I don't think she'd risk going to Mystic Falls, but I'll go there anyway and rattle some cages."

"What do you want us to do?" Elijah asked.

"Spread out. Look everywhere. Ask around, see if any witches can locate her without a sample of her blood. Anything."

* * *

Caroline followed Marie down the hall to a room with a closed door and music blasting from inside. "Bon Jovi? Really?" She thought as they knocked.

A pretty girl with long blonde hair answered the door.

"Hey! I'm Lexi. Come in!" she waved them in. Jess was just on the other side of the room, blocking the wine bottles from the view of the hall in case an R.A. came by.

Caroline started to walk into the room but something stopped her. She was confused. She had an invitation, but she couldn't step inside.

Lexi was watching her and tilted her head as if she was trying to figure something out. Marie had walked in the room and turned around.

"Carrie, what are you doing out there?" Marie asked.

"I.. uh.." Caroline stumbled.

"Come in!" Jess insisted and Caroline felt the barrier disappear. Interesting. So the one roommate's invitation didn't let her in, but the other one did. That must mean...

Lexi jumped forward to hug her and whispered into her ear.

"Woods. Two A.M. tonight. We'll talk about it."

Caroline gave her a quick nod and started to introduce herself around the room. There were eight other girls from their floor all huddled around the room, chatting nervously. It was the first week and everyone was hoping to make friends.

"So where are you from, Carrie?" One girl asked.

"Oh, back east." She said vaguely, earning a raised eyebrow from Lexi.

"Carrie just broke up with her boyfriend so we have to find her someone hot to rebound with at the frat party." Marie said.

The girls all cheered and clinked their cups to the sentiment.

"Oh, no, I'm not really ready for something like that." Caroline said, looking down.

"What happened? Was he an asshole? I bet he was an asshole." Jess said.

"No, he was great really, just..." She tried to find a way to talk about her true feelings without revealing too much. Girl talk really was the best cure for a broken heart. "He was just a bit older, and he traveled a lot for work. It made it hard to spend time together."

"Long distance sucks." Marie agreed.

"Yeah." Caroline sighed. She was relieved when some other girl jumped in with a story about a recent breakup. By one thirty most of the girls were getting tired and gradually left to go to sleep. She gave Lexi a nod before she left, remembering that they'd meet up in private soon.

* * *

Stefan woke up just long enough to see Klaus standing over him. Hands held the sides of his head and Klaus glared down at him. There was a loud crunch and Stefan sifted back into darkness.

When he woke again Klaus was on the other side of the room.

"That's ten times. You just broke my neck ten times in a row."

"You can count. All that Sesame Street paying off, Ripper?"

"I hate when you call me that. What did I do? You're obviously mad about something."

"Mad? Why would I possibly be mad?" Klaus mocked. His eyes narrowed and he leaned closer. "Where is she?"

"Elena?" Stefan asked.

Klaus snapped his neck again.

A half hour later Stefan woke with a start. He looked over and saw Klaus sitting on his floor next to him and groaned.

"Just tell me what's going on. I don't want to keep going through this."

"Caroline."

"What about her? Did she get the cookies?"

"You know where she is."

"Yeah, I talked to her the other day. Her birthday. She was in Russia with you."

Klaus suppressed the urge to make it an even twelve and kept his hands at his side.

"Where is she now?"

Stefan just blinked, confused.

"Where is Caroline?"

"I... I don't understand. She isn't with you? Did someone take her?"

"No!" Klaus growled. "She got angry and left. You must know where she is."

Stefan scrunched his forehead and thought about it for a minute. "Honestly... I have no idea where she would go. She hasn't tried to contact me."

"If you're lying, Stefan."

"I'm not."

Klaus stared into Stefan's eyes and scoffed.

"You're on vervain."

"Obviously. I spend a lot of time around Originals and I live in a town where council members are constantly playing the 'let's see who's a vampire by slipping vervain into the food' game."

"If I find out you know where she is and you're not telling me, I will spend the next decade alternating between torturing you and your brother."

"She's not going to come to me. She's not going to tell me where she is."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because she's a good friend. She wouldn't put anyone she loved in danger by asking them to hide her from you."

Klaus knew Stefan was right. Of course. Caroline would never risk anyone being harmed because of her. He would still knock on a few doors, but he knew it was hopeless. Now his best chance was just to look randomly, and hope one of the hybrids spotted her.

* * *

The trees were planted close together and the forest got thicker as soon as you stepped past the first few rows. After only a minute she couldn't see the campus. She breathed in the smells of the forest and picked up bunnies, squirrels, deer. Good. It would be easier than feeding on classmates. Having to see them every day would only make her feel guiltier.

There was a flash across the woods and Caroline flinched. She waited for Klaus or someone under his command to bash her head against a tree to knock her out and drag her back.

"You ok?" Lexi asked.

"Oh, I was just startled. I thought you were someone else."

"I told you to meet me alone in the woods at two a.m. and you thought someone else was here?"

"I.. uh... I get startled kind of easily."

"Yeah, I'm getting that." Lexi said. "So, obviously the dorms are full of eavesdroppers so this is the only place we can talk about it. Plus, I'm kinda hungry, and I think there's bunnies out here."

"Oh, you're on animal blood?"

"I know it's lame, it's just a thing I have. I'm trying to not hurt people." Lexi shrugged.

"No, I understand. I used to only drink animal blood until..."

"Until?"

"Just someone got me to feed of people as long as I didn't kill them. He wanted me to be strong, and you know how much weaker animal blood makes you."

"This wouldn't be the ex-boyfriend you mentioned in there? Or was he a made up part of your human backstory?"

"Oh, yeah. He's real. I don't really want to talk about him."

"Fine. No ex talk. Believe me, I've had a few terrible ones myself. Moving on. How long have you been a vampire?"

"About seven years" Caroline answered honestly.

"Wow. you're a baby."

"You?"

"Way older. I'm not like 'originals' old or anything, but you know, I've seen a few centuries."

"Originals?" Caroline asked. The word sounded strange. She just knew them as her boyfriend and his family. Her friends. Slowly becoming her family as well.

"You haven't heard of the originals? Oh my god, you really are a baby. Ok, if the world of vampires was Mean Girls, they'd be the plastics. They're royalty. They're the oldest vampires ever, and they're different. Almost impossible to kill. They're all siblings. There were parents too, but one of them killed the parents."

"How do you know all this?" Caroline asked.

"Are you kidding? Everyone knows about them. They're legends. I wouldn't ever want to get on one of their bad sides."

Caroline felt a shiver. She was currently on the bad side of the most dangerous original.

"Have you ever met them?" She asked.

"God no. If I hear they're even in the same country I run. But I have a friend who has. He's told me some insane stories." Lexi smiled at Caroline. "It's so nice to have another vampire around. And don't worry about not knowing about the originals, I'll fill you in on all the best vampire gossip. Believe me, these stories are insane."

Caroline spotted a rabbit and Lexi nodded, dashing off to catch it. Caroline stayed behind and watched her new friend hunt. It was so nice having another vampire to talk to. She would burst from hiding everything about herself, at least she could let a sliver of her real self show to this one person.

* * *

Bonnie heard a click as someone unlocked her front door. She felt a flood of panic. No one had a key. There were footsteps in her house. Someone was downstairs.

She slowly got out of bed and felt under it for the baseball bat she kept there. She took each step down the stairs slowly, begging them not to creak as she kept her back to the wall and the bat raised. ready to swing.

There was a figure in her kitchen. It was too dark to make out any details. She charged and swung.

A hand caught the bat right before it connected.

"Nice form, darling." He smiled.

Bonnie took a step back, both relieved and furious.

"Kol!"

He held his arms out, as if he expected a hug.

"How dare you!" She shoved him hard.

He was an original, so all she managed to do was make him smile.

"You pervert! Making a copy of my key! Sneaking into my house!"

"The house my brother bought you. The house you've invited me into before. You know, that time, you were wearing that tiny little dress... "

"It doesn't matter who bought it! This is invasive! You're violating my privacy!"

"It bothers you that I'm in your house? That's too personal?"

"Yes!" She exclaimed.

"Well that's ironic, considering I've been in your-"

"Kol!"

"What!"

"We don't talk about that!"

"Right, we just wait for the next family party where we know we'll bump into each other, have too much to drink, sneak off together, mind blowing sex, you say it'll never happen again, we end up having even more mind blowing sex the morning after, you run away the second I fall asleep, repeat, repeat."

"Kol. Stop."

"I see you haven't forgotten the time you let me take you to the batting cages."

"I don't remember that." She lied.

"Really? So the bat I stole you as a souvenir of that day just happened to fall into your hands?"

"It has practical uses, so I didn't throw it out. Nothing to do with you."

"I'm so sure, darling."

"Why are you here?"

"Are you not in the mood? Because I was thinking, that thing you really liked last time, we could start with that and then-"

"Please tell me you're kidding."

"Alright, alright. It was worth a shot. In all seriousness, I came here to help you."

"I don't need your help."

"You will. You're going to need someone to hide you and keep you safe."

"What are you talking about?"

"My brother is going to come after you. Klaus."

"Why? He likes me. I'm the one who talked Caroline into being with him in the first place. Do you not remember the incident with the abandoned house, he was in Tyler's body..."

"Yes, I've heard the story. But you're not safe anymore. She left him."

"Left? Why?"

"Don't pretend she hasn't mentioned being unhappy."

"Well yeah, she's been a little down recently, she said he was busy a lot, but I can't imagine her leaving."

"He forgot her birthday. The whole thing. Left her alone in a Russian hotel with no one but her Queen's guard to keep her company. Not even a phone call."

"That's shitty."

"Tell me about it. But he's been up to his neck in angry werewolves, so you know, things slip."

"Kol, where do I factor into this?"

"He's looking for her. He's been tearing through everyone she knows, even though she obviously wouldn't ask anyone she loves to take her in, he would kill them for hiding her."

"So why are you worried about me? He knows I don't have her."

"And how do you think he'll try to find her now?"

"I don't know."

"You're a witch. With a personal connection to her."

"He's going to force me to find her? I can't do that. She's my friend, I won't do that to her."

"I know. That's why I'm here."

Bonnie just looked at Kol, shaking her head.

"Why are you helping me?"

He gave her a sad smile. "You were the one who always said never again, who said no to my offer to turn you into a vampire. I wouldn't mind having you around for eternity. But if you insist on staying human, I'm going to keep you alive as long as possible."

* * *

Klaus could see Liz Forbes moving around inside her house. By the time he made it to the front step she had opened the door.

"Just because I've invited you into this house before doesn't mean you're welcome here."

"Good to see you too, Sheriff Forbes."

"Go away."

"I need to find her."

"Why? To kill her?"

"To sort things out. She belongs with me."

"With you? The guy, no, the monster who took her away from home before she even had a chance to graduate high school? Who carted her around the world and left her alone in hotel rooms while he was out ruining other people's lives? Why should she be with you? You haven't given her a place to call home, all she ever does is worry about you, there's no ring on her finger."

"She doesn't need a ring, she has a title."

"So I've heard." Liz narrowed her eyes. "What do you call a Queen who's sick of the King's bullshit? What's the title for that?"

He glanced around her and saw three figures protectively standing around her.

"Well Damon, I'm not surprised. I guess Stefan told you, you figured I'd be here next. Well done." He turned to Elena. "Pleasure, as always, doppleganger." He looked over at Matt, who had his gun cocked and ready. "Now you know those vervain soaked wooden bullets won't actually kill me."

"No. But they'll hurt." Matt said.

Klaus took a step closer and smiled when Matt didn't flinch. "A human boy prodding an angry hybrid. You've got guts. It's a wonder no one's turned you into a vampire yet."

"No thanks." Matt replied.

"Life as a small town cop too exciting to let go of? By the way, nice uniform. How long have you been deputy? Does it ever get awkward, working for your Ex-girlfriend's mom?"

"She's your ex-girlfriend now too."

Klaus growled and took a step forward.

"She's not here." Matt responded. "And there are vervain grenades all over the lawn that I can activate with the push of a button."

Klaus rolled his eyes, unimpressed by the big show they were putting on. Every one of them knew he could end their lives with a flick of his wrist, soaked in vervain or not. The only reason he wouldn't was her.

"Very well. I can see I'm not wanted. Just to be clear, if she speaks to you, calls you, shows up at your door, if you see so much as a shadow of her, you are to alert me immediately or face the consequences."

"You can't kill us." Damon said. "She made you promise. And there's no way she'll go back to you if you kill her loved ones."

"Good thing mine had magic rings." Elena muttered.

"Hey! Long time ago! And can we focus here!" Damon hissed at Elena.

"Oh I have no plans to kill you, she made that request very clear and I intend to honor it." Klaus said. As he turned to leave he added "I can, however, do worse. I can make you wish I killed you. Just something to think about."

He got back in his car and drove across town. It was time to pay the Bennett witch a visit.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N Thank you everyone for all your kind reviews! Please keep leaving them, I love each and every one!**

**Based on the general response from the reviews, I picked Lexi to be Caroline's friend at school. It's not an A/U story, but I'm writing Lexi as if she had the same history with Stefan and personality, just that she didn't die in season one. We can assume she hasn't been back to Mystic Falls since, and would therefore have never met Caroline before now. **

* * *

Caroline laughed as they walked out of the old brick building.

"I can't believe you got them to put us in all the same classes!"

"I can't believe you expect me to sit through an entire semester of that stuffy British Lit class!" Lexi smiled.

"I wasn't giving up that one! I let you pick the other one for today."

"Ah, yes, 20th century American history. Also known as: My life." Lexi joked.

"Cheater!" Caroline protested.

"Hey, if we're still friends in 100 years we can go to college all over again and take 21st century history."

"Ok, that would be pretty cool." Caroline agreed. "Please tell me you have pictures from the 60's."

"Oh, no, dollface. The 20s were the best decade."

Caroline groaned. "That's what everyone's been telling me."

"You have no idea. Drinking was so much more fun when it was all naughty and illegal."

"Like the party we're trying to find tonight isn't?" Caroline protested.

"Of course." Lexi smiled. "We're just two underage college freshmen looking for sleazy frat boys to help us get underage drunk at a party. Maybe the'll give us drugs too. Oh, I hope there're drugs at the party, and the cops bust in. I haven't run from cops in decades. God, that would be fun."

"Like they could catch us." Caroline smiled.

A guy in a T-shirt with some greek letters on it walked up to them holding a stack of papers.

"Hey ladies."

Lexi rolled her eyes at Caroline as they guy not so subtly looked them up and down.

"Uh, party at our house tonight." he handed them a flyer. "Follow the dress code and you're in for free. Bring girls."

Caroline looked down at the flyer. "Oh you've got to be kidding."

"Come on. It'll be fun." Lexi pleaded. "Hey, I think I know someone who lives in this house. We need to go shopping."

"I can't." Caroline protested. "My boyfriend would-"

"Ex-boyfriend." Lexi reminded her. "And what he doesn't know."

"He always knows." Caroline muttered. But she looked down at the flier again and smiled. "So how exactly do we do this?"

* * *

Klaus approached the house he had bought Bonnie. She had never actually invited him inside, but he could find a way to lure her out. There was fire, a gas leak, threats of torturing her loved ones, so many choices.

What he didn't expect was to see his brother sitting on the front porch reading the newspaper.

"Kol?"

"You've finally made it!" Kol greeted him, folding the paper neatly.

"What did you do?" Klaus demanded.

"I protected her. That's how these things work. You protect Caroline, The Salvatores take turns protecting Elena, I'm on Bonnie duty."

"I need her."

"You'll find another way." Kol shrugged.

"Bring her back or I'll stick a dagger in your heart and you won't wake until the 23rd century."

"Dagger me and you'll never know where Bonnie is."

"I could beat it out of you." Klaus suggested.

"You can try." Kol said.

"You know better than to provoke me. Not now, Kol. Not with her missing."

"She's not missing. She's exactly where she wants to be. Away from you."

"Get me the Bennett witch right now."

"You see, all these threats are getting a bit boring. You can try whatever you wish, but I'm not budging. You won't get to Bonnie, no matter what you do to me. Find another witch."

Klaus took a step towards Kol, snapping one of the chairs on the porch to create a jagged wooden stake.

Kol stepped over the threshold and Klaus chucked the stake at him, only to have it bounce back. He threw another one and it bounced back as well, as if there was some invisible barrier preventing the stakes from getting through the front door.

"She's really something, isn't she?" Kol smiled, admiring the invisible magic barrier. "You can't get to me when I'm in here. Even if you try to burn the place down. I wouldn't recommend it. She's not here."

"Why are you making this so difficult?" Klaus hissed

Kol sauntered back through Bonnie's house, moving around as if he was quite familiar with the place, causing Klaus to raise an eyebrow. Not only had she had invited him in, but he must have been here more than once.

"You're not the only one who gets to care about someone." Kol said before disappearing into the house.

* * *

Caroline looked down at the pile of random objects that cluttered Lexi's bed.

"So by 'Anything But Clothes', they really mean..."

"Anything." Lexi smiled.

Jess was helping Marie fasten on a toga made out of shower curtains, she was already in some kind of Duct tape ensemble. Lexi was holding up a bunch of fake flowers, trying to hot glue them onto a bathing suit. They figured wearing bathing suits under or as the base of their outfits didn't count as cheating. They weren't professional designers and there needed to be something there in case their homemade contraptions fell apart.

"And here's yours" Lexi handed Caroline a bikini and a plastic shopping bag.

Caroline looked in the bag. "You've got to be kidding."

"Because you're sweet." Lexi laughed.

"Candy buttons? It's just tiny strips of paper with little dots of bright sugar attached. I can't wear this!"

"Can and will. I'll give you the glue gun in a minute. I'm thinking halter style top and a skirt with more slits than skirt."

"There's no way I can go out in that."

"Why the hell not? It's going to be cute."

"I..."

"This isn't about your ex, is it?"

"No, he never had a problem with me wearing whatever I wanted. It just feels different, going out without him."

"Drink me! I make life more fun!" Lexi said, holding out a cup. "Forget about your loser ex. If he's not here with you, he's an idiot."

Caroline smiled and took the drink. She had expected him to find her by now. She wasn't sure if he would kill her or try to take her away, back to him. Either way, she expected him to storm through the door at any given moment, yet he hadn't. Maybe he didn't want to find her. The thought made her feel like her whole world was crumbling down. She felt a single tear fall and wiped it away before any of the other girls could see. She reached over for the glue gun and started to make her party outfit. He might have forgotten about her, but no one at tonight's party would.

Lexi motioned towards a metal thermos sitting on her desk, inviting Caroline to take a sip while the other girls stepped out of the room to put on makeup in the hall bathroom.

"Is that... human?" Caroline whispered.

""Don't hate me." Lexi pouted. "I swear, cruelty free. I try doing animal blood, but it never lasts more than a few weeks."

"No, it's nice actually. I can feel myself get weaker when I stick to only animals. how did you get it?"

"I might have compelled some nurses at the local hospital."

"Bags only, right?"

"Yeah, I'm not biting people I go to school with. It just seems... tawdry, you know?"

"Yeah." Caroline agreed, taking a sip. "God, that's good. I haven't had anything but bunnies since I got here."

The other girls went back in the room and Lexi slipped the cap back on the thermos and put it away. They all looked each other over, adding final touches on their outfits, then they were out the door.

* * *

The music blasted loud enough to hear down the street. There was no way this party was going to last all night without police showing up.

Lexi and Caroline split up from the rest of the girls in their group as soon as they got inside. They took a quick lap around the basement, where most of the party was happening. They fit right in, no one was wearing actual clothes. There were outfits made of balloons, sheets, pages from books and even a pair of shorts made entirely out of condom wrappers. One girl was wearing a dress made of wigs that looked like it itched.

Caroline had to swat away a few hands that reached out to grab the candy buttons she wore, luckily her vampire reflexes kept anyone from groping her.

"Come with me." Lexi smiled, leading her up the stairs.

"But the keg's right over here, shouldn't we get some?" Caroline asked.

"No need." Lexi gave her a knowing smile.

They weaved through the crowds up the stairs and through the kitchen and living room before heading up a second set of stairs to the bedrooms. If Caroline was human, she would have felt very vulnerable, following a new friend up a secluded set of stairs, away from the roar of the party.

Lexi knocked on a door.

"Open" a gruff male voice called out.

"Al!" she shouted, running over to give him a bear hug.

"Lexi! he smiled, scooping her up. "You finally made it out here! You'e been on campus a week! Shame on you."

"I know, I got distracted! You won't believe my luck." She pulled Caroline into the room.

_Hmm, dorm rooms require an invite for each room, the frat house just needs an invite at the front door, not individual bedrooms_. Caroline noted. She always wondered how the invitation thing factored into places like this.

Al reached out to shake her hand and his eyes sparked with recognition when their skin touched.

"Vampire." He said.

"I'm Carrie." Caroline introduced herself.

"Al. Witch. And long suffering friend of this nutty Vampire." He motioned to Lexi.

"The best witch." Lexi insisted. "Ask him how old he is."

Caroline looked over Al. He could be about twenty three.

"Uh, twenty three?"

"Seventy five." Al said. puffing out his chest.

"Magic. It can't stop aging, but it can slow it down a hell of a lot if you know what you're doing." Lexi smiled.

"Nice to meet you Carrie." Al smiled. "And what will the lovely ladies be drinking tonight?"

He opened a cabinet to show several top shelf bottles of liquor.

"You didn't think we'd be drinking cheap beer with the real college kids, did you?" Lexi smiled.

"What happened to experiencing life?" Caroline asked.

"This is it. Just better." Lexi replied.

The three of them snuck up to his room periodically to fill up their cups with the good stuff and gossip about stuff in the supernatural world, then they would make their way back to the party for a while and mingle with the rest of the kids. Caroline caught Marie giving her a raised eyebrow, as Al introduced Lexi and Caroline to all his frat brothers, holding each of their hands.

There were a few whispers Caroline picked up as they weaved through the crowd. _Check out the girl with the flowers... I'd pluck her... Did you see the candy buttons... Yeah, I wouldn't mind a bite of that... Wait, whats up with them and Al? Is he with both of them? A blonde and a redhead at the same time? Dude, how is he pulling this off? Oh, shit they're going up to his room again._

Lexi flopped on the bed, piss drunk. She was giggling madly about how everyone downstairs thought they were having some kind of threesome and she was teasing Al relentlessly about how he could live with such an obnoxious group of boys.

"Oh, like the freshman girl's dorms are so classy and elegant? I heard about your floor renting the projector to watch Magic Mike the other night."

"I stand by that choice. It's a quality film." Caroline giggled.

"You watched it twice in a row. And I heard you kept pausing it at certain moments." Al said.

Lexi laughed. "Whoever gave me the remote is responsible for that one."

"Girls are weird." Al shook his head.

"You'll have some man time soon. Buddy boy is coming to visit next weekend. You two can go be old men together while he's here. He loves your World War Two stories."

"You two should just get married already." Al poked Lexi.

"No way. We're best friends. In fact, maybe I'll set him up with Carrie while he's here..."

"No!" Shouted Caroline. "Not ready!"

"Tough breakup?" Al asked.

"You have no idea." Caroline sighed.

"It can't be any worse than _the_ breakup. It's all everyone is talking about. Can you imagine?" Al said, looking pointedly at Lexi.

"I thought that was just a rumor." Lexi said.

"No way. Real. Although I wouldn't call it a breakup in front of him if I was you, I heard he tore some guy's arm off for calling it that."

"I can't believe it. You've been holding out on me! I want all the dirt!"

"Why don't you ask your best friend? I'm sure he could tell the story much better."

"Don't be an ass, just spill." Lexi begged.

"Wait, what's this about?" Caroline asked, her head spinning from the drinks.

"They used to call them Beauty and The Beast." Al laughed. "I guess he's just the Beast now." His expression darkened. "But seriously, girls. Be careful. I have a bad feeling about this. All those hybrids, he's got nothing to lose now. I don't like it."

"What's he talking about ?" Caroline asked Lexi.

"Oh you haven't heard? You must be either very young or completely clueless."

"Hey!" Caroline objected.

"Al, she's a baby. I had to explain who the originals are the other day." Lexi said, climbing off the bed and stumbling a bit. "Carrie, I'll tell you the whole story tomorrow, there's a lot of backstory and all that.

Lexi and Caroline stumbled down the stairs and made their way out into the night. The walk back to the dorms felt like forever in the impossible quiet that surrounded them as they left behind the noise of the party. The cops never did show up and break it up.

"You'll tell me tomorrow?" Caroline slurred.

"Yeah" Lexi smiled. "If I remember. I'm so gone right now."

They went back to the dorms. Lexi wrote a note on her desk.

**Beauty and the Beast with Carrie.**

"There. Now I'll remember." Lexi crashed into bed, earning a groan from Jess who was half asleep across the room. She fumbled with her phone, drunk texting someone.

"Buddy boy. Answer me. Don't be such a grump." She said to her phone.

Caroline walked back to her own room and fell into bed.

* * *

Klaus stood on a raised platform in the middle of the campground. All of the packs in four states had come to see him tonight. A bunch of hybrids were passing out wallet sized photos of her, one for her pack member.

"You will sleep only when you can no longer stand. You will eat while you search. You will feed quickly and continue searching. There will be no rest. There will be no stopping." He said, his voice booming through the camp.

He was pacing back and forth across the stage, holding his own wallet sized photo of her, the one all the copies were made from.

"You will get information from every vampire and witch you cross. It is possible she is among humans. Compel information. Show them the picture. Ask if they know anything at all about her, if they have ever seen her."

One hybrid dared to shake his head, looking annoyed by the inconvenience or perhaps embarrassed by the lengths their sire would go to to get her back.

Klaus caught it and stomped over to him and broke his back.

The man twitched on the ground and sputtered in shock. It wouldn't kill a hybrid, but it was painful enough to make him think twice about doing it again.

"This is far from over!" He shouted. "Your lives are mine! Until she is back, your every waking moment belongs to me."

"And if she never comes back?" Someone challenged.

His eyes darkened. He approached the hybrid man. The man glared back at him. The sire bond was enough for most of the hybrids, almost all of them were pleased to be part of his army after Caroline had made all her silly rules for ethical treatment. However once in a while he would find one that needed to be set straight.

Klaus picked the man up by the neck, crushing his esopogas until his face tinted blue.

"I didn't want to have to use the sire bond, but allow me to repeat myself. Your entire life is now devoted to finding her. She will be found."

The man dropped to the ground and gasped for breath. Whispers were going around the crowd. No one had dared to defy him like this in years.

"I don't need this." The man grumbled, dusting himself off and turning to walk away.

Klaus grabbed him by the shirt and shoved his hand into the man's chest. The heart in his hand was still beating when the body hit the ground.

Klaus held the bloodied heart up for all the hybrids to see.

"Anyone want to join him?" He challenged.

The crowd was silent.

"Didn't think so. Now find her."

* * *

Caroline's head was pounding when she woke up. Even vampires could get hangovers. She looked over to Marie's bed, but she was gone. A note on her desk mentioned going into town with Jess for the day. She went downstairs and a few buildings over to the coffee shop on campus and got two huge cups and some bacon egg and cheese bagels.

Lexi felt the knock on the door like it was someone punching her in the face.

"Alright! I'm up, hold on."

She wrapper herself in a sweatshirt and dragged across the room to the door. Caroline was on the other side with breakfast.

"Are you an angel?" Lexi smiled and bit into one of the bagel sandwiches. "Oh, god, that's just what I needed. My head is killing me."

"Me too." Caroline smiled.

Lexi got back into bed with her food and Caroline sat at the desk, putting her coffee cup down to hand Lexi the other one.

"What are you doing over there, dummy? Get in here!" Lexi patted the mattress beside her.

Caroline grabbed her own cup and scooted in next to her. It was such a girly friendship thing and it made her miss high school sleepovers with Elena and Bonnie. Even worse, it made her miss Rebekah. She hoped Rebekah wouldn't take her leaving personally, but knowing her, it was wishful thinking.

"You have a note on your desk. Beauty and the Beast with me?"

"Hmm, I guess our drunk asses wanted to watch a Disney movie?"

"That's odd."

"Yeah. I don't even own that one. I think roomie does though, check her shelf."

"Bingo." Caroline held out the DVD.

"Alright, put it on." Lexi agreed. "Just no singing along."

Caroline got back under the covers with Lexi and watched the movie start.

**_Little town, It's a quiet village_**

Caroline wondered how everyone in Mystic Falls was doing.

She missed them all so much. Elena and Damon had seen her a few months ago, but as the years went on her friends had made excuses to get together with her less often, always busy. She suspected it had a lot to do with his rise to absolute power and the fact that he made them uneasy.

**_Oh, isn't this amazing?_**

**_ It's my favorite part because you'll see_**

**_ Here's where she meets Prince Charming_**

**_ But she won't discover that it's him 'til chapter three_**

She almost snorted a laugh out loud. All her thoughts eventually led back to him. He was no prince charming, but she had met him long before she knew who he really was. He had been the evil faceless villain after her friend, then the man who pulled the strings, claiming her boyfriend's free will. He was the obnoxiously persistent guy who invited her to a ball and sent her a fancy dress. He was the liar in Tyler's body. He was back in his skin and she was looking at him in a new light. He was someone new, this amazing person she didn't see before. Her perfect boyfriend. He was fading away, back in his obsession with hybrids. He was power hungry and desperate to control everything. He was losing her and too focused on building his army to notice.

**_I want much more than this provincial life_**

**_ I want adventure in the great wide somewhere_**

**_ I want it more than I can tell_**

**_ And for once it might be grand_**

**_ To have someone understand_**

**_ I want so much more than they've got planned_**

"I remember!" Lexi interrupted Caroline's thoughts. "I was going to tell you the story."

Caroline lowered the volume on the movie a little. "What story?"

"The real life Beauty and the Beast. I must have drunk texted my friend last night after we came back and he gave me all the latest details."

"Real life Beauty and the Beast?"

"That's what I like to call it. Are you ready to hear the most epic love story ever?"

"Bring it on" Caroline smiled.

"Ok, remember how I told you about the originals? About the one who's actually a hybrid? The one with the army?"

Caroline's heart dropped into her stomach. Lexi was talking about her and she didn't even realize one of the main characters was sitting right next to her.

"Yeah. The crazy one who wasn't really their father's kid. He did that curse spell thing and was able to access his werewolf side. Something with a doppelgänger?"

"Exactly!" Lexi smiled. "I'm glad I already told you that part, it factors into this story a lot. Ok, so he kills his mother, spends centuries trying to break her curse, looking for the Doppelganger. He finds her, but she escapes and turns into a vampire. He spends centuries looking for the next one, running from his father the whole time. Or stepfather, I guess, anyway. Mikael wants to kill him more than anything. There are few accounts of people seeing him. He spends decades in shadows, plotting, waiting. He's completely alone. His siblings are all either in boxes he puts them in or keeping their distance. By the end of the 20th century only Elijah is awake. "

Caroline nods along, and Lexi continues.

"So get this, he finally finds the next Doppelganger, and she's got all these vampires and witches protecting her. He has to sacrifice a vampire and werewolf and the Doppelganger to break the curse. He has his minions pick out the vamp and wolf, and unknowingly they pick this girl, I'll call her Beauty and her boyfriend we'll call Wolfy. So Beauty and Wolfy escape and he picks a backup. He kills the Doppelganger's aunt, a Were- woman, and the Doppelganger, breaking the curse. Only the Doppelganger comes back to life, because of all these people who love her make insane sacrifices to keep her alive."

"Wow." Caroline breathes.

"That's not even the beginning." Lexi smiles. "So he broke the curse. He manages to find out that the Doppelganger blood is the source for making new hybrids. Lucky for him, she's back from the dead. Wolfy is his first hybrid. He finally has the upper hand on Mikael and kills him. Now he's got everything he's ever wanted. Hybrids, more people that are like him. He no longer has to run from Mikael. He has his siblings back and they seem ok with forgiving him for putting him in boxes. He has absolutely everything he's ever wanted and he's the most powerful vampire or were, even before building the army up to what it is today."

"That sounds like a happy ending." Caroline adds.

"Except it isn't." Lexi continues. "This is where it gets messy. He spots her. Beauty. She's this amazing girl with all this spirit and light and he's instantly attracted to her. But she hates him, and she's part of the biggest resistance against him, this ragtag group of vamps and humans trying to kill him. She's - get this- BEST FRIENDS with the Doppelganger. The one he would have killed if it wasn't for the magic brought to life, and he did kill her aunt. Beauty hates him because he almost killed her for the sacrifice, almost killed Wolfy. And he killed people she cares about. Now he's sired Wolfy to be his hybrid errand boy and Beauty is even more pissed at him. He gets Wolfy to bite her, and it would have killed her if the Beast wasn't right there to save her. He tries to get her to fall for him but she turns him down over and over again."

"He sounds like a dick." Caroline smiled.

"Oh he totally is, but that's not the point of the story." Lexi continued. "He's never cared for anyone like he does for her and she hates him. Imagine it: A thousand years without ever knowing love and you fall head over heels for this one person, but they know every evil deed you've ever done and they hate you for it. You've unknowing done things that directly hurt the one person you want."

"That doesn't change anything he did." Caroline insists, remembering how she felt at the time.

"Oh, I agree. He's such a shit. But things get worse. Her friends try to get rid of him. They desiccate him. Her witch friend bodyswaps him and Wolfy without telling anyone. Desiccated Beast gets staked, but it's wolfy in his body. Wolfy dies. Beast is trapped in Wolfy's body. He hides out while the witch fixes his real body. Somehow Beauty ends up trapped with him. She falls for him before she even knows who he is, and once she finds out, the damage is done. She puts up a fight still, but she's a goner. She ends up caring about him. She's in love with the person she always wanted to hate. She gives up everything to be with him, risks losing all her friends, ruins her relationship with her mom, misses high school graduation and prom to travel the world with him instead."

"How do you know all this?" Caroline asked, stunned by the intimate details of her life that were common gossip for vampires she never met.

"Everyone knows about it." Lexi shrugged. "Plus I have a friend who's close to it all. You'll meet him soon. You'd like him."

"So she gives up everything for him? Why?"

"I guess it was just that kind of love. The kind that consumes you and makes everything else not matter. It's so painfully romantic. He's a thousand years old, powerful, smart. He could have anyone and he picks her. She was practically a newborn vampire, had never even been outside her little town. He saw something in her that made her worth putting himself through months of embarrassment. I heard he groveled and followed her around like a little puppy, all proclamations of his affection and expensive gifts. She turned him down over and over. Someone like him would usually move on, or kill her, or compel her. But he didn't do that. He changed for her too. He saw her as worth it all. Vampires centuries younger than him actually laughed in his face, mocked him for his obsession with her. But he held on, hoping one day she's change her mind. Then she finally did. And he calls her the Queen, and you can just tell he loves her more than anything."

"I doubt it." Caroline sniffed.

"No. He does. I have some hybrid friends... One of them told me about this time he was at a camp with a pack, and she showed up to surprise him."

Caroline remembered that day. He had pretended to be mad but he still kissed her in front of all the crowds, made a big fuss over her that probably made him look soft as anything to the newest hybrids who hadn't seen his dark side.

"Carrie, they say he looks at her like she's the stars and he's never seen the night sky. Like she's the most precious thing in the world. Everything about him from his voice to the way he stands changes when he sees her. She's his magnet, and when she's there he can't see anything else."

"That sounds nice." Caroline said. It kinda creeped her out how much people noticed about them. She wondered what else people were saying about her.

"Yeah. It's the best kind of love story. Two people who are nowhere near perfect find each other, and somehow against all the odds, they end up together and make each other better. Too bad it doesn't end that way." Lexi sighed.

"Huh?"

"That's what Al was talking about last night. What my friend texted me about. It's all everyone is talking about."

"What?"

"She ran away."

"Ran away?"

"Yeah." Lexi nodded. "Something happened. I don't know what. Just that she ran away. There are all kinds of rumors for why. The biggest one is that he attacked her or something like that. Another one is that he forgot her birthday, but that seems kind of silly, I don't know if I buy it. Some people are saying the missing queen is all an act and that he killed her weeks ago. If he did, he's putting on a hell of a show."

"What show?" Caroline asked.

"He's been to every continent, trying to find her. He doesn't sleep. He's been walking down streets asking humans if they've seen her. He always has her picture in his hand. The hybrids are all looking for her. Every pack is ordered to look for her. They're tearing the world apart trying to find her. One or two hybrids have said negative things about her and he killed them on the spot. He ripped a guys arm off for making a face. Broke another's back for rolling his eyes. He's gone completely unhinged without her."

Caroline felt happiness and fear at the same time. He was looking for her. He didn't give up. "Do you think he'll find her?"

"God, if she's alive, I don't know how he hasn't already. College campuses are so isolated, but I heard that if you go out into the city, you'll see hybrids holding her picture on every corner. He threatened her friends and her mother. Her human mother. Can you believe that, the most powerful vampire, hybrid, whatever you call it on earth, his queen was so young that she still has a human mother who's alive? I mean, he spends a thousand years alone and some newborn vampire turns him upside down. He's gone off the deep end looking for her. He's made it clear that if anyone stops him from finding her that he'll kill them slowly."

"So that's the real life Beauty and the Beast?"

"It used to have a fairy tale ending." Lexi sighed. "Now it's just a mess. It makes me worry, actually."

"Why?"

"He has more power than any vampire on earth ever had. He has a global army. She was the only thing keeping him from being a monster. She made him better. And now she's gone. Carrie, we have to be so careful. A bite from a hybrid can kill a vampire. He's got them everywhere and he's out for blood."

My blood. Caroline thought.

"Do you think she should go back to him?" Caroline asked. "This queen?"

Lexi frowned. "I can't imagine why she was with him in the first place. She seemed too wholesome for him, too moral. But for people who are so different to fall in love like that, I can't help but root for them. I don't know how she ran away. How could a person leave someone who loves them that much? Why would someone just run?"

"Maybe she's afraid of him." Caroline offered.

"Of course she is." Lexi said. "We all are."

* * *

One week Later.

* * *

Klaus looked at his phone. Every time it rang he hoped it would be her. She would tell him where she was. All the pain would be over.

It was a pack leader in Australia. He sighed and answered it.

"Tell me you have something."

"Oh we do. This is huge."

"Spit it out."

"A human working in a shop a few hours outside Sidney saw her the day she esca- the day she left."

"That was weeks ago. This gives me nothing. She could be anywhere."

"There's more."

Klaus paused, trying not to let any hope build up, but it was too late. He needed a miracle.

"She was seen buying a box of red hair dye. All the pictures, all the descriptions we've been giving are wrong. We haven't found her because we were looking for a blonde."

"We've wasted weeks!" Klaus exclaimed. "How is this only being discovered now?"

"She went to a very remote area to buy the dye. There must have been very few people around."

"So why are we still concentrating the search in the cities? Tell your packs to move out. We need to cover every inch of land, no matter how desolate."

"Of course, sir. And I'm having a member of my pack create a composite of what she would look like with red hair. I'll send it to you and forward it to the other packs as soon as it's complete."

"I can't believe it's taken this long. Only looking for blondes..."

"Sir this is a good thing. Now that we know, she's actually made it easier to find her."

"I fail to see how." Klaus sniffed.

"Go into the most crowded room you can find, Sir. One with hundreds of people. Count how many redheads you see in that room. I promise you it won't be more than two or three."

"So as long as she didn't change it, you think she'll be easier to spot."

"I know a lady who went from blonde to red last year. When your hair's lighter to begin with, it comes out a really bright color. There's no way we can miss her now."

Klaus looked out at the crowds around him. The hybrid had ben right. There was one person with red hair in the entire ares. Her disguise would backfire. What she used to cover her tracks would be the thing that made it easier to find her. A tiny part of him hoped that she wanted to be found.

* * *

Stefan got off the phone and grabbed his duffel bag.

"Where are you going?" Damon raised an eyebrow.

"Visiting Lexi. She's playing college girl again, and I promised I'd go and spend the weekend with her."

"Going to parties at a time like this? Klaus is already breathing own our necks for not trying to contact Barbie. You think he'll take kindly to you partying with some blonde bimbo when our other favorite blonde is still missing? Not to mention a certain other blonde who's still in love with you and might not take kindly to you spending the weekend with a lady friend."

"Can we not talk about Becca? I've got enough on my plate as it is." Stefan groaned. " And Klaus doesn't need to know anything. Just tell him I'm out looking for Caroline."

"I thought you were her friend!" Damon shouted as Stefan turned to leave.

"I am. This is the choice she made. I'm letting her make her own decision."

"Yeah, I remember how well that worked out last time when you let Elena decided to drown to death."

"Why are you complaining? She ended up picking you."

"Excuse me if I still hold a grudge for you letting my girlfriend drown."

"Human Elena would never have picked you. She's only your girlfriend because I let her drown."

"Well, you're still a terrible brother." Damon teased.

"Said the brother dating my ex."

"Whatever, have fun with Lexi."

Stefan smiled and walked out the door.

* * *

Klaus showed up at the Salvatore house hours after Stefan left. Damon leaned in the doorway, again refusing to invite him in. They spent an uncomfortable minute glaring at each other before Klaus pulled out a photo and handed it to Damon. Damon looked it over.

"Well this is going to put a damper on the Barbie jokes."

Klaus ignored the comment. "Where's Stefan? I want him to see this too. Everyone needs to be alerted that we're looking for a redhead now."

"He's out."

"Out where?"

"Out for a few days."

"Why?" Klaus growled.

"He's just doing his part for the search party. Looking for your runaway Queen."

"He refused to try to contact her. He isn't looking for her."

"Fine. He went to visit his friend."

"Where?"

"I don't know."

Klaus glared.

"Seriously! He didn't tell me which school she was at."

"School?"

"Yeah, she liked to go to college every once in a while. I've tried it a few times. The classes can be boring, but the parties are worth it."

"College." Klaus repeated.

"Yeah, you know, that thing after high school where hundreds of 18 year old girls all cram into these tiny rooms and live together, and have pillow fights and practice kissing or whatever they do when they're alone. Actually, maybe I should give college another go..."

Klaus was walking away.

"Nice seeing you again!" Damon shouted sarcastically as Klaus got farther into the distance.

Klaus was already on the phone with one of the pack leaders. He couldn't believe such an obvious thing had escaped him. She loved milestones of human lives, silly high school traditions. She had missed so much when they were off finding packs. It was so obvious where she would run to.

"We have a new plan. In addition to looking for redheads we are changing the areas of the search."

"Got it. Where to, Sir.?"

"I want hybrids on every college campus where English is spoken."

"Right away Sir."

Klaus hung up and went to his phone's search engine. He looked for the closest campus.


	19. Chapter 19

Lexi practically threw Caroline on the bar.

"What are you doing? I just said we should do shots." Caroline huffed.

"And we are." Lexi smiled. "Like college girls. Lie down."

Caroline shrugged and lied down on the sticky bar. At least they were wearing real clothes to this party.

She listened to the human voices around her. _Yo, check it out... Are those the girls Al always brings over? ... Oh, hell yeah, body shots over at the bar... Dude you think she's let me do a shot off her? ... How does Al find these girls? ... Do you really think he's with both of them?_

Lexi was rubbing a lime on Caroline's neck, and she sprinkled salt over the spot.

"Ok, put this in your mouth and lift up your shirt." Lexi handed her the lime slice.

"Uh, what?"

"Just do it, Carrie. And pay attention, cause you're doing a shot off me next."

"Is this really an important part of the college experience?"

"Just do it, ginger spice." Lexi said, a jab at Caroline's obviously fake red hair. It was a reminder that she would have to touch it up soon before her blonde roots started to show.

Caroline shrugged and hiked her shirt up so her stomach was exposed and put the lime in her mouth.

Al was on the other side of the bar. "I have the best friends." He smiled down at Caroline, holding the tequila bottle.

"Mhhhhmmpht mmm huupht." She tried to scold him, unable to coherently speak with the lime in her mouth. He would occasionally flirt with her and Lexi, but it was all in fun and he never tried anything. He was smarter than to put an unwelcome hand on a vampire.

She shivered as Al poured the tequila on her stomach, letting it pool around her belly button. Lexi flicked her hair out of the way, then licked the salt of Caroline's neck, sucked the tequila off her stomach and bit the lime slice, pulling it from Caroline's mouth.

"Holy lesbian hotness!" A drunk frat boy shouted.

"Dude. Me next!" another one advanced towards Caroline.

"No way." Lexi blocked them. "She and I are doing shots of each other. No touchy for you. You can look all you want, but hands off."

"They really are with Al." One of the guys muttered.

Caroline didn't mind so much that most of the party people thought she and Lexi were in some freaky three way relationship with him. It made it easier to get guys to back off, considering Al was a senior and totally jacked. No one would try anything with them if he said so. At the same time, she felt a little gross about people thinking she was in some dude's harem. Even worse, if Klaus caught ahold of this rumor, Al was as good as dead.

"Your turn." Lexi smiled, helping her down from the bar.

Caroline picked up a lime slice and the salt shaker and got everything set up.

"Hey, need any help with that?" One of the boys approached her, sliding his hand around her waist.

"No. Stop touching me." She started to move his hand, trying hard not to use her vampire strength to crush it. It would attract too much attention.

"Hey, you need to loosen up." He smiled, sliding his hand down to her ass.

"Get your hands off her." Al barked at him.

The boy flinched a bit, but didn't move his hand. Caroline tried to wiggle away, but he gripped on her harder. She had a choice, either expose her vampire strength and knock the kid out, or deal with it as if she was a human.

"Let go of me." She glared, and pushed on his hand, but it was locked on her.

"She said let go." Al approached the guy, towering over him.

"Oh, come on man, they share you. Why can't you share them?"

The guy was instantly on the ground. Al absently rubbed his hand, a slight sting from knocking the guy square in the face.

Al leaned over the guy, who's hands flew up to his bloody nose.

"Listen carefully. Carrie and Lexi can do whatever they want and be with whoever they want. She didn't want you to touch her. The next time you touch one of them, or any woman without her consent, I will do much worse. Now leave."

The guy scrambled out of there, followed by a pack of his friends. The party stayed quiet, everyone whispering and looking over at them until someone turned the music up and they all got back to their nights.

"Kids today." Al muttered, only loud enough for Lexi and Caroline to hear.

"Now that's some good old fashioned ass kicking." Lexi smiled, kissing Al on the cheek. He beamed a smile back at her, his eyes following Lexi as she went across to check on Caroline.

"You ok, Carrie?" Lexi asked.

"I'm fine. Just embarrassed."

"Don't be. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I'm usually better at defending myself, I just got worried, if I reacted, they would know how strong I am. I don't want people asking questions."

"Don't worry, kid. I've got your back." Al smiled.

Lexi looked at her phone. "Shit. Time to pick buddy boy up at the airport. Carrie, I'll see you back at the dorms later? I told him I wanted him to meet you."

"Yeah, that sounds great. I'm just going to stay here another hour or so before heading back."

"Alright, Al, I'll call you tomorrow and let you know when he wants to get together. Carrie, see you tonight."

Lexi left to go pick up her friend.

* * *

"Do you want another drink? Al asked Caroline. "I promise you won't have to drink it off my stomach." He joked.

"After that, I could use a lot more than one drink."

"Come on, I'll get a bottle of something good from upstairs."

She followed him up to his room and noticed something different, but she couldn't place it. It was a funny familiar smell, not bad, but funny. She looked around for a candle or air freshener but didn't see on. He was rummaging through the cabinets for a liquor bottle. She saw him sigh heavily and look out the window. He looked sad.

"Al, what's up? You've had a stick up your ass since Lexi went to pick up her friend."

He just pouted.

"Oh my god." Caroline said "I can't believe I didn't notice it before. You like her."

"No." He grumbled.

"You do."

"Fine. I do. So what?"

"So! Don't you think she should know?"

"What's the point? He's here now, and besides, it's not like there's a chance."

"How can you say that? You have no idea how she feels."

"I know she loves him."

"Ok, she talks about him a lot. And they've got this long friendship, but it's not like that. Yeah she loves him, but as a friend. They've been friends for like a hundred years. If they were going to get together, don't you think they would have by now?"

"He's a vamp, she's a vamp. He's her best friend, I'm just her friend."

"Al. Stop. I don't know if she feels the same way about you, but I know she always wants to go here and hang out with you instead of going anywhere else and looking for random guys. And I promise he isn't a factor. She's made it very clear that isn't how the two of them are."

"Yeah..." He trailed off.

Suddenly Caroline was able to spot the familiar smell in the room.

"Is that wolfsbane?"

"Yeah. He motioned towards the plants in his window. "I've been growing some. It's not like I expect them to show up at my doorstep, but they're everywhere now, and with the Queen gone..."

"What?"

"Didn't Lexi warn you? The hybrids are spreading out. There's a rumor they're focusing on college campuses, we can't be too careful."

"Why would they go to colleges?"

"I don't know. Just a rumor I heard. Still on the hunt for the Queen. I can't imagine she could stay hidden this long. I think he probably killed her, just using this as an excuse to start a war."

"Klaus." She said.

Al nodded and handed her one of the sprigs of wolfsbane. "I hope you never ever have to come face to face with someone like him. Take this."

"What do I do with it?"

"Put it in a water bottle. Carry it with you everywhere. It's your best defense against one of the hybrids. Just enough of a distraction to run. I'll get a few more plants tomorrow for Lexi and you to put in your rooms. Can't be to careful."

He looked under his bed and found a half empty water bottle. "Here. Use this."

"Thanks." She smiled. "Coming back to the party?"

"Nah, I'm not really in the mood." He sighed.

She caught him looking at the wall, where he taped up a picture of him and Lexi.

"Alright." She smiled. "I'm going back to the dorms, see you soon."

"I'll go with you." He offered.

"Al, it's fine. I'm not some girly little kid. I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, but... Hybrids... You know a bite from them can kill you."

"Yeah, and you're a human. They can rip you to shreds faster. I appreciate all the protective guy stuff, but you have to trust me to watch out for myself."

"Fine." he sighed."I really don't want to have to see Lexi with him anyway."

"Al, stop. They aren't like that. She's told me a million times she doesn't see him that way." Caroline paused. "She never said that about you though..."

He seemed to cheer up a little. "Alright, I get it. I'll walk you to the door."

He walked her down to the front porch and hugged her as she left, kissing her on the forehead.

"Be careful, kid."

"I will. And thanks again for helping me out tonight. You're a great guy. I'm sure Lexi noticed."

She walked down the path to the dorms not noticing the yellow eyes that watched her leave the frat house, and her intimate looking goodbye with the man on the porch. She absently played with the water bottle and the sprig of wolfsbane floating in it. She was humming a song to herself as she walked back to the dorms. She never heard the footsteps behind her.

* * *

Klaus saw his phone buzz. A text from one of the pack leaders in the northwest.

**We think we spotted her. Sending video.**

His heart was pounding in his chest. Could it be possible? He was beginning to lose hope of finding her. There were whispers all around that she was probably dead. He swore to himself he would feel it if she was really gone. He would know it, wouldn't he?

A new message appeared, with a video attached. He opened it.

The shaky camera zoomed in across the street to a house that had people constantly coming and going. It looked like some kind of party was going on inside. There was too much noise to decipher any individual voices. The door opened again and a girl with bright red hair walked out onto the porch with a large man with dark hair. They were standing close and whispering about something. The girl turned towards the street and for the first time, the camera caught her face.

It was her. He paused it and sat down, his hands shaking. He just looked at her face, overwhelmed by it. She was alive and she was only a few hours away from where he stood. He could get to her tonight.

He pushed play again and his stomach lurched. She smiled up at the man, touching his arm as she said something. The man hugged her and she didn't seem to mind. He kissed her on the forehead before she left. She bounced down the stairs and looked back at him, smiling and waving. He leaned in the doorway, watching her walk away.

Klaus picked up the glass next to him and threw it across the room. How could she? How could she be with someone else so soon? Had it all meant nothing to her?

The camera spun to her, walking down the street. She looked like she was bobbing her head and singing something to herself. She approached the dorm building, and the camera panned up to capture the name of the building as she entered it. Elm Hall, 223 University square. He already knew the town the hybrid was calling from.

It took every ounce of self control he had left not to smash the phone to pieces. He flung it at the sofa then charged across the room, ripping apart tabled, tearing the paintings off the wall, smashing everything he could touch. She had never loved him. She was just like everyone else. He had thought she was the one person who could never let him down, who would never choose someone else over him, but how else could he explain what he just saw? She had left him and found someone else instantly. There was no way should could have ever cared.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a muffled beep coming from the phone on the sofa.

**Waiting for conformation. Should we move in? **

He texted back.

**Leave her be. I'll deal with them myself. On my way.**

* * *

Caroline bounced down the hall to Lexi's room. She heard Bon Jovi blasting again. That girl had the weirdest taste in music. She knocked on the door.

"Lexi! Someone has a crush on you! Someone really hot and nice! Open up so we can talk about it."

There were muffled voiced from inside the room and the music shut off.

She knocked again.

"Make yourself useful and get the door, would you?" Lexi called out to someone in the room.

The door swung open and Caroline gasped.

"Stefan?"

* * *

Klaus hovered in the doorframe of the frat house. He needed an invitation in. A guy in his late teens opened up the door, looking down to light his cigarette as he walked on to the porch.

"Whoa, dude! You scared me there. Uh... party's kinda winding down."

"Do you live here?" Klaus asked.

"Yeah, duh." the kid said, motioning at the Greek letters on his shirt, and pointing to the identical letters on the doorframe.

Klaus was confused. He knew ancient Greece and these particular letters didn't spell out any word in that language. And this kid didn't look Greek at all.

"Well, aren't you going to invite me in?" He asked.

"Yeah, whatever dude. It's five dollars for guys tonight, but I think the keg's already tapped, so just go in."

He nodded curtly and walked into the house. He followed the noise to the basement. There were crowds of students drinking and chatting and dancing in the bare concrete room. There was a bar along the back wall and two guys were standing behind it, chatting.

He walked up to them. "Good evening. I'm looking for a large man with dark hair. He was with a girl with red hair earlier this evening."

"What're you a cop or something?"

Klaus leaned closer to compel the guy.

"Tell me where he is."

The boy laughed. "Right. You're weird man."

They were on vervain. From the looks of it, they were just humans and had no idea they were even on it. Someone in this house must be protecting the rest of them with it.

Klaus would have to be more creative. Who would be needing to find this guy late at night in the middle of a party?

"Look, My friend is his weed dealer, but he couldn't make the delivery tonight. He told me to look for a large dark haired guy who would probably be with a red haired girl. Can you tell me where to find him?"

The one guy turned to the other.

"I thought Al grew his own weed?"

"Nah, man, those plants in his room are something else. I tried to roll up some of that and it tasted like shit. Didn't even get me high or nothing."

"Huh." The guy grunted and turned to Klaus. "Yeah, you're looking for Al. The girl is Carrie, she's one of his girlfriends, I think."

"One of his girlfriends?" Klaus sputtered. He could hardly contain his rage. Why was she doing this to him? Leaving him to join some disgusting frat guy's harem?

"Yeah her and this blonde girl, Lexi. The two of them are always lezzing out all over each other at our parties and then going up to his room with him. You should have seen it, he beat up some guy who tried to mess with Carrie tonight."

"Someone hurt her?"

"Nah, man. She was just sucking face with Lexi again. Doing body shots and stuff and some guy tried to put his hands all over her. Al shut him down pretty fast."

Klaus nodded, letting it sink in. His fingernails were digging into his palms. He wanted to kill everyone in the room, starting with whoever thought they could touch _her._

"I think, like, all three of them are a thing. Lexi's roommate says she and Carrie are always hanging out in bed together, like whispering and stuff. And Al's never with anyone else except the two of them."

"This Al. He lives here?"

"Yeah, upstairs. Look for the room with all the plants and stuff."

* * *

Caroline walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Lexi and Stefan were standing there, looking back at her, both confused.

"Caroline? Are you crazy? What were you thinking?" Stefan demanded.

Lexi looked stunned. "You know Carrie? What did you call her Caroline? Stefan, the only Caroline you know is blonde. The Quee- oh, god. oh shitballsshit. Oh no."

She sunk to the ground with her head in her hands.

"I can't believe it. You practically spelled it out for me. You said you were a few years old, you had a much older vampire boyfriend you didn't want to talk about. How did I not see it?"

Caroline moved over to her. "Lexi I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you, but anyone who knows who I am isn't safe. I didn't want to put you in danger."

Stefan looked stunned.

"Your hair looks... different." He said.

She rolled her eyes at him. "You hate it."

"No, just not what I was expecting. I just... I'm kind of at a loss right now. I need a minute."

"You're the Queen?" Lexi asked.

Caroline nodded. "Was. I don't really know what I am now."

"Caroline, he's going to kill us all." Stefan said.

"No" Caroline shook her head. "I won't let him."

"You haven't seen what he's like now. We can't count on that."

"Then you run. Both of you. If he finds me here, you won't be here, he won't hurt you."

"I'm not leaving." Stefan shook his head. "If he tried to hurt you, I can't just leave you here to wait for him to find you."

"Do you think he's going to hurt you?" Lexi asked.

"I don't know." Caroline shook her head. "He never has, I can't imagine him ever doing something like that... but I've never done anything like this before. I know he's furious. I don't know what happens next."

"Do you want to be with him?" Stefan asked. "He'll be here soon. Damon said he was looking for me in Mystic Falls. He could show up here in a matter of days. When he gets here, what are you going to tell him?"

"I don't know. I ran away because I was so confused. I still don't have it all sorted out. I love him so much, but he's Klaus, you know?"

""Believe me, I know." Stefan said.

Lexi was shaking her head, pacing around the room. She looked horrified.

"Lexi..." Caroline began.

Lexi looked back at her with tears in her eyes. "I thought you were my friend. I thought I was helping you. You were mocking me the whole time."

"No. Lexi, I'm so sorry. I would have told you everything, but I couldn't ask you to keep that secret for me. I really like being friends with you."

"And asking me to tell you that story? When you already knew the whole thing? do you have any idea how twisted that is?"

"I was curious. You said everyone was talking about it. I had no idea that people knew so much about me."

"It's been such a long time since I've been friends with another girl." Lexi said sadly.

"I still want to be your friend." Caroline said quietly.

Lexi looked hurt, she glanced from Caroline over to Stefan.

Stefan looked at Lexi. "She's ok, Lex. Remember what I told you?"

Lexi gave Caroline a hesitant look. "Only because Stefan always talks about you and he says you've been a good friend to him."

"Thank you." Caroline smiled.

Lexi and Caroline hugged. Stefan took a step back and let them have their moment before they pulled him right in to the middle of their hug, trapping him between two squealing girls. He pretended to hate it.

"You know, I'm going to end up calling you Carrie by mistake all the time."

"As long as you don't keep calling me ginger spice."

"Oh, I can't wait until you're blonde again. You are going to change it back, right?"

"Totally. Being a redhead is fun, but I want to be myself again. Although it is easier hiding out from Klaus like this."

"Yeah, about that..." Stefan trailed off.

"What?"

"Damon texted me. He knows about the hair."

"Ugh!" Caroline protested. "It's totally cheating! He has like a million hybrids to help him figure this stuff out."

"You have us." Lexi smiled. "We'll help you."

Caroline shook her head. "I can't ask you to do that. You should both leave. Keep taking vervain so he can't compel you and lie. Lie and say you were never here and you never saw me."

"Caroline." Stefan said gently. "You know you can't run forever. You'll have to face him eventually."

"I'm not ready."

Stefan nodded. "You need to find a way to be ready, and soon. I don't want you to live your life like Katherine, always on the run from him, always desperate to protect yourself, losing everything. You deserve better than a life like that."

Caroline sighed. "Yeah. You're right. I just can't think straight. Can you just distract me for a while? Tell me about the kinds of things you guys did together in the 80s' or something. I just need one more night before I have to start thinking about all this stuff again."

* * *

Lexi tilted the bottle more and more, catching the last dregs in her cup.

"I guess that's our sign it's time to sleep?" She asked.

Stefan nodded.

"Caroline. Wow, still weird calling you that. Anyway, Stef's sleeping in Jess's bed since she's out for the night. You wanna stay in here and get in with me?"

Caroline nodded yes. It had raised a few eyebrows, the fact that she and Lexi liked sleeping in the same tiny bed, but people shrugged it off as one of those weird girl friendship quirks. She was glad that they could keep their friendship now that Lexi knew who she was.

Stefan muttered something about not looking forward to the next day. Caroline looked at Lexi for an explanation.

"Oh, he's just grumpy because I wanted him to do lunch with Al."

"Stefan doesn't like him?"

"The two of them are always butting heads. I just want them to get along, they're the two most important guys in my life."

"Lexi, I don't want to hang out with that stupid witch just because you have a crush on him." Stefan grumbled.

"Wait, what?" Caroline smiled.

"Thanks, jerk!" Lexi threw a pillow across the room at Stefan.

"You like him?"

"It's stupid. I don't want to talk about it."

"Are you kidding?"

"Carrie - I mean Caroline, He's human. I'm not. He would never want- uh forget it. It's pointless."

"He likes you too."

"No he doesn't. He probably likes you."

"Uh no. He pretty much told me he likes you."

"Really?" Lexi's eyes lit up. "Are you sure?"

Stefan pulled a pillow over his head. "Ugh, all this girl talk! Let me sleep!"

There was a loud bang down the hall and the three of them scrambled up to find out what it was. Lexi carefully cracked the door open, so they could look down the hall.

A group of people were standing around Caroline's room. The door had been ripped off it's hinges.

"She's not here."

"We can't get in. A human probably lives here too."

Girls from the rooms around the halls opened their doors to see what the noise was.

"Compel them all." Someone ordered. They pack of hybrids spread through the halls, leaving a clear view of the figure in the middle for the first time. Caroline felt Lexi squeeze her hand tighter and Stefan wrap a protective arm around her. Klaus was in the middle of the hall.

He moved his hand across the threshold of the doorway of Caroline's dorm room, feeling the invisible barrier that blocked him from entering, despite the fact that she no longer had a door.

He had no idea she was right there. She was watching him from down the hall, looking through the crack of Lexi's slightly opened door.

"Find the human who lives here with her. Compel her to let us in or kill her, I don't really care which one."

"No!" Caroline shouted.

His head whipped around, his expression unreadable, but it was clear he knew the voice. He blurred across the hall to where it came from, and she flinched back into the room. He ripped the door off it's hinges, and took a step to get closer to her but he was blocked. Lexi had a human roommate too.

He looked her over. She wasn't hurt, at least from what he could tell, but she looked terrified. He wanted to hold her tight, but the impulse only lasted a moment before he remembered what she had done. She had made it very clear she didn't care for him anymore, if she ever really did.

"Klaus." She whispered.

"Hello, love." He said sadly. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

He noticed Stefan and the blonde girl and tilted his head. "This doesn't look good for you, Ripper."

"He didn't know I would be here." Caroline shouted. "He just got here."

Klaus looked over at Lexi, who was holding on to Caroline protectively, glaring back up at him.

"I don't need to ask who this one is. Your little situation has already been explained to me."

She had expected anger, but he was positively boiling with rage. She had hoped his love for her would outweigh it and he would show her mercy, but now it looked worse than she could have imagine. His hands were shaking, his breathing ragged. The way he looked at her was a knife in her stomach. There were tears building in his eyes.

"Are you going to kill me?" She whispered.

He let out a dry, humorless laugh. "Now that sounds familiar."

He reached into his pocket and pushed a button on his phone. "Show me." He barked to the person on the other end.

He held the phone out for her to see, it was a video of something, a person. She creeped closer, knowing he couldn't get through the doorway, but still afraid. Her heart dropped. It was Al, chained against a wall and beaten bloody. Four hybrids stood around him.

"The first thing I'm going to do, sweetheart, is kill your boyfriend."


	20. Chapter 20

Caroline looked back at Klaus on the other side of the doorway. He was only inches away. She knew he couldn't get in, the barrier would stay there as long as they could keep Lexi's human roommate safe. At the same time, the invisible protection felt like nothing at all. She was shaking where she stood.

He was like she had never seen him before. He was radiating fury, an angry heat that came out of him and singed the atmosphere. His eyes were full of bitter tears that kept falling, one at a time, but he wasn't sad. He was enraged, and his gaze was fixed on her.

She had seen him angry, she had seen him furious with her for doing something stupid, putting herself in danger, finding new ways to irritate him, but all of that was nothing compared to this. She had never witnessed him snap completely, and she had never thought it was possible for him to feel so much rage towards her. He loved her. But now all she saw was hate.

"The first thing I'm going to do, sweetheart, is kill your boyfriend."

"My boyfriend?" She looked at him like he was crazy. "No! let him go! He's not my boyfriend!"

"That's not what I heard."

"I don't understand. He's my friend, that's all."

"I saw you and him. You were on his porch. He was touching you. He kissed you."

Lexi shot Caroline a confused look.

She shook her head. "We were saying goodbye. He hugged me and kissed my forehead. It was a friend thing."

Klaus laughed. "And I suppose you're spending all your time alone in his room with him, or in his room with him and this one" He motioned to Lexi "doing friend things?"

"Actually, yes." Lexi said.

He glared at her.

"Klaus, nothing happened! I don't understand where you're getting this from!"

"I'm sure he'll tell me what really happened, once I bleed the vervain out of his system." He pressed a button on his phone. "Yes, turn him upside down now. I'd like to get this done sometime tonight."

"No!" Caroline shouted.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?"

"You're going to kill him!"

"That's the idea. But first I want him to tell me every detail of what he did. I want to know just what he thought he had the right to do to my queen."

"Stop it!" She was crying.

"Afraid of what I'll hear? I'm quite interested. I wonder if you waited a day after leaving me to start fucking some witch. A human. Maybe two days? Or am I being too generous?"

"Why won't you believe me?"

"I don't have to. The truth will out soon enough. Let's play a little game. For every time that peasant fucked you, I'm going cut something off him. I can start with fingers, toes, then hands, arms..."

"He didn't do anything!"

"I don't know what bothers me more, the fact that you could be so quick about finding someone new, or that you don't even pick someone who bothers to give you his full attention."

"What?"

"The three of you make quite the interesting relationship." He said, looking at Lexi.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding." Caroline huffed.

"Several sources have told me you and her carry on in public quite a bit. Licking drinks off each other, dancing, eating food out of each other's mouths, sharing a bed."

"Oh my god! This is college! Lexi and I aren't together like that!"

He scoffed at her. How dare she keep up this charade? He hated that stupid girl clinging to his Queen's arm. He would kill her once he was done with the man they seemed to enjoy sharing so much.

"Hello? Do you not remember how Rebekah and I act sometimes? Do you think I'm with your sister too?"

He shrugged. "So you're not with the girl. You're just sharing a man with her."

"Stop it! How many times do I have to tell you? There's no one else. I love you."

"You've got a funny way of showing it, sweetheart."

"I do. After five years together, how can you not believe me?"

"YOU LEFT!" He screamed. "You walked out like it was nothing!"

"I just needed to get out of there. I was hurt."

"You were hurt?"

"You forgot my birthday."

"Leaving was a bit extreme. You could have reminded me."

"I'm surprised you don't have a hybrid to do that for you."

"Again, with the hybrids."

"Yes with the hybrids. I'm in love with you and you don't even notice me. It's all hybrids all the time."

"They are your protection! I've provided you with a life of safety, with royal status. You've seen the world."

"We wouldn't need their protection if you hadn't spent a thousand years making enemies!"

"You knew exactly who I was when you agreed to this. You knew me and you still said it. You and me and no one else. You broke that promise."

"I didn't Niklaus. You did." She spat. She only called him Niklaus when she was very very angry.

"I've never touched another woman, It's only been you since I first arrived in Mystic Falls."

"You and your army. That's what you are now. You and them and me sometimes when you notice I'm still around."

"Stop it. Don't you dare make this about me. You ran off and jumped on the first dick you could find, flaunting some twisted farce of a relationship. You were my Queen, and now? Some little boy's play thing? Running around campus, putting on a show for all the boys, acting like some kind of porn star with this girl? Are you purposely degrading yourself as much as possible?"

"I'm not going to explain it again. You have been misinformed. I never broke our promise. It's always been you."

His eyes darkened. "I spent weeks searching the world for you. You have no idea what you put me through, how much I worried for you. The whole time all I could think about was finding you, begging your forgiveness. I spent every waking moment regretting not giving you my full attention every moment of the years we spent together. I picked apart every possible thing I might have done wrong. I stayed up every night, worried about you, wondering if you were safe, alive even. I practiced what I would say to make you love me again, to get you to come back. Now I can see I was sorely mistaken. I thought you ran to make a point, and that we could get through this. Now I see you never loved me. You couldn't have possibly cared. Not when you end it like this. Goodbye, Caroline."

She looked at him, both of them crying. He was a shell of the person she loved. He had hardened himself against her, the way his eyes fell on her told her everything. He didn't believe a word she said. She wouldn't be able to get through to him. How had this gotten so out of hand?

He was walking away.

"Klaus, wait!" She shouted.

"I have a witch to torture." he called back, not bothering to turn his head.

* * *

Bonnie heard the heavy door groan as it slowly opened. She didn't even have time to turn around before he was on the couch next to her.

"Kol." She turned, smiling.

His face was serious, a rather unusual appearance for him.

"What is it?" She asked.

"He found her."

Bonnie sighed. "Finally. So I can get out of here, maybe go check on my friend and see what the hell she was thinking?"

"I don't think that's a very good idea." He said, taking her hand in his.

"What happened?"

He shook his head. "It's bad. I thought he would run in and sweep her off her feet, the whole romantic reunion, very Niklaus with the dramatic proclamations and all that..."

Bonnie furrowed her brow. He was supposed to find her and they would make up. It was the only resolution she could ever imagine. Klaus and Caroline both had hot tempers, but the never could stay mad at each other. She had seen it herself, the visions that came whenever she touched one of them. They were supposed to be together.

Kol gave her a worried look, and continued. "She's with someone else. He saw her with a new boyfriend. He lost it. The last time I saw him this mad I ended up with a dagger in my heart."

"She wouldn't do that. Caroline loves him, they've been together five years. She wouldn't just be with someone else so quickly."

"Apparently, she would."

"No." Bonnie shook her head. "That's not her."

"You have to stay here." Kol said, looking her straight in the eye. "It's not safe."

"Is he going to kill her?" She asked, starting to cry.

"I don't know what he's going to do, but he won't get you."

"I can't stay here while someone's after my friend." Bonnie said.

"You will. I'll try to reason with Niklaus, but you need to stay here. I won't let you get hurt by this."

"So I just stay here and wait? I want to be out there, I'm sick of hiding!" Bonnie protested.

"If you were less fragile, maybe I would agree."

"Not this again." She huffed.

"It wouldn't be so bad. You, me, staying young forever, traveling the world."

"Even vampire me wouldn't be interested in forever with you."

"You wound me, darling."

"Just check on Caroline for me? Since you seem to insist I can't go see her myself."

Kol smiled. "Anything for you, Bonnie Bennett."

* * *

Lexi tried to run out of the room as soon as Klaus had left. It took both Caroline and Stefan to hold her back.

"I have to save him!" She screamed, reaching for the door. "I can't just leave him! Let me go."

"You're smarter than this, Lexi." Stefan said. "You know you can't just run in there. The hybrids would tear you apart before you get anywhere near him."

"He's going to kill him! I can't just stay here and wait for it to happen."

"You can't leave. It isn't safe. If you leave this room the hybrids can take you, and he wants you dead."

"Stefan, let me go!" Lexi begged.

"No. I'll go." Caroline said.

Lexi and Stefan looked back at her, startled.

"It's my fault he's in there. If it wasn't for me Klaus would never have taken him. I'll go and get him back."

"Klaus isn't going to let you walk in there and take Al away from him. You saw him. You could end up dead too." Stefan said.

"What choice do we have? Let him die because of me?" Caroline protested.

Stefan blocked the doorway. "Stop. Just stop for a minute. We need a plan."

* * *

One of the hybrids leaned down, checking a cut on the neck of the man who was hanging upside down in the middle of the room. A large pool of blood gathered below him. The hybrid traced a finger through the cut and put the bloody finger in his mouth.

"The vervain's out of his system." He said, turning to Klaus.

Klaus glanced over from the table he was facing. It was covered in knives, corkscrews, hammers, a variety of torture devices.

He walked over to Al, flicking a knife back and forth in his hands. Klaus dug it across his stomach, then brought the knife to his lips, licking the blood.

"No vervain." He smiled. "Now the fun really begins."

* * *

Bonnie found herself inching closer to Kol as he spoke on the phone in a hushed voice. He was calling Elijah and Rebekah back and forth, trying to get more information about what was going on, but there hadn't been an update in hours.

"Well?" Bonnie asked.

"We don't know anything yet. Only that he found her and he's very angry. They took the guy, that's all I know."

"They took who?"

"The guy Caroline was with. Niklaus has him now."

Bonnie shook her head. "There's no way. She wouldn't."

Kol looked at her, wanting to pull her closer, but always wary of her fickleness when it came to him.

"You can't say that for sure. No one thought she would ever give Niklaus a chance."

Bonnie shook her head. "I did. I saw it before it happened. I knew when I touched his hand that they were going to be together. This isn't how their story ends, this isn't what I saw."

"What did you see?" Kol asked.

Bonnie looked haunted from the experience. "I saw centuries. There was so much in one flash. They can't be done."

Kol inched closer. She looked so rattled. She hated being trapped in here, but he was much stronger and he wasn't going to let her leave and put herself in danger. He would stay here and keep her safe. Rebekah and Elijah were better at restraining Niklaus anyway. All he ever managed to do was rile his brother up.

"Will you let me hug you?" he asked, cautiously putting out his arms.

Bonnie looked him over for a moment, as if she was checking for weapons, then she nodded shortly, and let him pull her into a tight embrace.

Kol finally worked up the courage to ask what he always wanted to ask. It was now or never.

"Did you ever see anything like that with me? With us?"

Bonnie nodded her head up and down but wouldn't look at him.

"What?" he asked.

"I don't want it to be true." She whispered.

"What?" He asked.

"I don't want to stop being a witch. It's who I am."

"Darling you'll always be a witch. The only way you could not be one is if you... oh." Kol said, it finally dawning on him. "That means... you saw..."

"Try not to gloat so much." She huffed.

He knew she was upset, so he tried to hide his smile, but it was no use. She punched him hard in the ribs. Very hard, for a human.

"Ooof! That almost hurt! Now imagine how much fun you'll have maiming me when you're a-"

"Don't say it, Kol."

"Fine. I won't say anything." He said, and pulled her closer.

* * *

Klaus circled around the figure dangling from the chains. Al was beaten and bruised and cut up all over, but he was still in one piece. At the same time, he had lost enough blood to be close to death.

Klaus dug the knife in again, and brought it back to his mouth. He was positive there was no vervain, but it was impossible. He kept trying to find new ways to ask the same questions, wondering if there was some witchy interference blocking him from getting the truth.

"I'm going to ask you one more time." He said, fixing his eyes on Al's so he knew he had him compelled. "Tell me why you dared to defile my queen."

"Defile?" Al croaked out, his eyes in a daze. "I never defiled anyone."

"You had sex with her."

"No, I didn't."

"You were carrying on a romantic relationship with her."

"No, I wasn't" Al said, his voice getting weaker with each moment. He didn't have much time left.

"You attempted to seduce her, but were turned down?"

"No. I never wanted that with her."

"Why?" Klaus said, his voice dangerously sweet. "Is my queen not beautiful enough? Is she not to your liking?"

"I want to be with Lexi. No one else is to my liking." Al said, his eyes starting to roll back in his head. He was loosing too much blood.

Klaus looked back at the circle of witches his hybrids had brought in. They were chanting and whispering over bowls of Al's blood. One looked at him and shook her head.

"What is it?" Klaus hissed. "What trick is he using?"

"It's clean." One of the witches said. "He's telling the truth."

Klaus felt his stomach drop. Had he been wrong? It looked as clear as day. Maybe he just needed to find the right questions.

He brought his face back to Al's locking in the compulsion again.

"Tell me who this woman was sleeping with." He said, holding up Caroline's picture.

"No one that I know of."

"Who does she spend her time with?"

"Me, Lexi, two human girls named Jess and Marie."

"Did she tell you why she came here?"

"Yes. To get away from someone."

"Who?"

"She calls him her ex when she's being careful, but she slips a lot and calls him her boyfriend."

"Why was she trying to get away?"

"She would never say. Only that she missed him and loves him, but she needed to get away. She never explained more."

Klaus watched Al pass out, his body tugging on the restraints as his head lolled. He regarded the witch with a wary glance one more time before pulling his head back by grabbing his hair. Klaus bit into his wrist and held it above the man's head, letting it drip down on his lips.

Al gasped as he woke back up. He looked confused at the figure standing over him, dripping blood down into his mouth. He had finally come face to face with the most feared creature in the world, and by some bizarre twist of fate, Klaus was under the impression that his friend Carrie was the queen, and that they two of them had some kind of sexual relationship. Klaus had promised, in many colorful ways, to kill him slowly. Why was he helping him stay alive?

Klaus motioned to one of the hybrids to undo the chains, and Al collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath.

"Has the queen left the building yet?" he asked a hybrid who was constantly checking something on a phone.

"She did. She's wandering around campus. In fact, she's coming this way."

Klaus nodded. He pointed to two hybrids. "You two, bring that witch back to the vampire named Lexi. Tell her this is a warning should she have any ideas about crossing me. The Ripper will be with her. Tell him that if he dares to try anything I will do much worse to his loved ones." He turned his attention back to Al. "Do not mistake my mercy for weakness. I have burned down your entire supply of vervain and wolfsbane. I have people watching you. If you ever lay a finger on Caroline or do anything else to displease me, I will peal your skin off inch by inch."

He turned back to the hybrids holding Al up. "Get him out of my sight."

Klaus then fixed his attention to the group of witches. "I need a boundary spell. As quickly as possible." He grabbed a map of the campus off one of the tables and drew a circle, handing it to one of the witches.

The witch turned to the rest of them, showing them the map.

"We need to get all the salt we can find."

Klaus walked up from the basement, trying to clear his head. The hybrids that littered the house jumped out of his way, all of them especially on edge. He needed air. He needed to get outside the stuffy little house and breathe and try to make sense of it all.

He would have to apologize. There was no way around that one. He was still furious at her for leaving, but she had been telling the truth. Why didn't he just believe her? He had let his impulse and anger get the better of him and now she would be angrier than ever.

* * *

Caroline was running through the paths across campus. It had taken hours but the were both finally asleep. Lexi had exhausted herself crying and struggling to try and break free of Stefan's hold as he held her back from certain death. Caroline had tried to get them to let her leave, but the wouldn't allow it. She could tell Lexi would have if it was just her, anything to keep Al alive, but Stefan had put his foot down. Neither of them were to leave the room while Klaus was still as angry as he was. It wasn't safe for anyone, not even Caroline. Not when he thought she had been with someone else.

Lexi keep crying for hours after she admitted defeat and stopped trying to leave the room. Stefan held her close as she cried and eventually fell asleep. Caroline just paced around the room. It was all her fault. Once Stefan fell asleep she ran out the door. She wouldn't let anyone die for her.

She kept running thought the streets, searching for where they might be. A house a few blocks off campus caught her eye. There were several people standing on the porch, walking around the yard. They weren't talking or partying. they were standing guard.

They took defensive stances as they saw the figure running towards them, but they faltered when they recognized who she was. Even with him screaming about how she had betrayed him, they all knew how he really felt about her. None of them wanted to be the one to tackle her.

"Let me see him." She said, her voice registering the authority she had once held over them as their queen. The authority she never wanted, but he pushed it on her anyway, insisting it was her right.

They looked to each other, unsure of what to do.

She started marching up the steps, and the pack of them followed, afraid to touch her, but unwilling to let her in unsupervised. They couldn't let her get near the basement. He was in the basement, and from the sounds that had been coming out of there for the past few hours, he had been very busy.

As she reached the door it opened, two hybrids each holding one of Al's arms as the held him steady, walking him out of the house. She ran towards him, biting into her wrist as she saw him in front of her, covered in injuries. She shoved her bleeding wrist to his mouth before he had a chance to say anything.

"Oh my god! Al, I'm so sorry! This is all my fault. I thought if you didn't know, then you would be safe. I had no idea. I'm so so sorry!"

He gave her a sad smile as he wiped the blood off his lips.

"He already gave me some blood. You didn't have to do that."

"Yes I did." She smiled sadly, checking him over. He was starting to heal, but that wouldn't make what happened to him ok. "I don't know what to say, Al. I'm so sorry. I never meant for anyone to get hurt."

"It's ok, kid."

"No, it's not." She shook her head. "Where are they taking you?"

"Lexi."

"Are you sure?"

"He kept trying to get me to say stuff, they got the vervain out of my system, they thought you and I..."

"Yeah." She nodded. "I heard that he thought that."

"You were really with that guy?"

"I can't make excuses for him, I know that. Anything I say to explain it will just sound like I'm saying what he did was ok. It's not ok."

"But that's the guy? The epic love you ran away from?"

She sighed. "Yeah, that's him."

"I think you could do better." He joked, holding his ribs. "The original hybrid. Oh, hell, Carrie. You really are in deep."

"What can I do?" She offered. "Let me help you."

"Oh no." He warned. "You're not coming anywhere near me. The last thing I need is him seeing you anywhere near me."

She looked at the hybrids next to Al. "You're really taking him to Lexi?" she asked, warily.

They nodded.

"I'll go with you." She offered. "I'll stay a few steps away, I just want to make sure you get there ok."

"It's fine, really-" Al started, but he was interrupted when the front door swung open again.

Klaus was standing in the doorway.

"Caroline." He said hesitantly, eying Al, and trying to form an apology.

"Save it." She warned, glaring daggers at him.

He nodded to the hybrids. "Get him out of here. Make sure he gets to the the Ripper and this Lexi he's so fond of."

Caroline looked up at him, standing on the porch. He didn't have the fury he had the last time she saw him, instead he looked hesitant, exhausted, unsure. It didn't matter. He had ignored everything she said and chose to believe some contrived notion from his own imagination over what she had tried to tell him. He tortured someone she cared about just because he couldn't listen to what she was saying. He was impossible.

It was her turn to be mad at him.

"How dare you!" She shouted, marching up the steps. "You asshole!" She shoved him hard. "What did you do?" She demanded, shoving him again.

He reached out and held her still. She tried to swing at him, but he was stronger.

"I let him go."

"I can see that." She sneered. "Obviously that wasn't the first thing you did."

"I'm sorry. I thought..."

"I know what you thought. I told you the truth and you didn't listen!"

"What was i supposed to think? You ran away, no explanation, no note, nothing!"

"I needed a break!"

"A break from what? Me?"

"Just a break, ok! I don't want to be the stupid Queen every goddamn day! I don't want to spend my life following you around, waiting alone while you go out making hybrids. I'm sick of being second."

"You're not second! You've always been the most important thing to me."

"I'm not a thing. And I'm not any of the things you called me tonight. You stormed into my dorm, kidnapped my friend, called me a whore about twelve different ways, tortured someone I care about."

"I didn't mean-" he started "I just. Caroline, please."

"What were you thinking?" She demanded. "Did you think this would fix things? Torturing people?"

"I didn't think there was anything left to fix! I thought you had moved on, I didn't care about anything else, I just wanted to see something bleed."

"How could you think that? Did you really believe that I was gone for good?"

"You never gave me any indication otherwise." He said. "What did you expect me to think?"

"Don't give me that. You still thought we could be together, otherwise you wouldn't have looked for me."

"Well that changed when I saw that video."

"And now you know you jumped to the wrong conclusion."

"What can I do?" He demanded. "How can I make it right? Just tell me how to fix this."

Caroline looked away. "You know, I knew you would find me. I needed time, and I still do. I didn't know what I wanted or what to do. But I always thought it would end with us back together. Now, I'm not so sure. How can I ever be with you, after what you just did? Maybe we never should have been together at all. The way things began... everything started with a lie. And now this? It's too much."

He tried to find and explanation, but there was nothing to say. She was right to hate him, to feel like she could never trust him again. He had a chance to save it, but he had been impulsive and made things worse.

"We have to be together." He said. "How could you leave? How can you say that you see a future any other way?"

"I didn't see a future any other way. I didn't want to run, but you made things impossible. Always away, always focused on hybrids. I thought maybe if you noticed I was gone, you might snap out of it, things could change."

"I'm here. I made a mistake. Let me fix this." He implored.

Caroline shook her head. "I think it's too late."

She walked away and he didn't follow.

* * *

Caroline got back to the dorms and was relieved that someone had put the doors that had been ripped off back. She slid her keycard into the door of her room, just needing a minute to cry before she went to face Lexi and attempt to begin apologizing to her and Al for everything that had happened. It was all because of her.

She had to hold back her tears, because there were several people in her room. Her roommate Marie and her friend Jess were sitting on the floor with Stefan, a few beers and bags of chips in front of them.

"Hey Carrie!" Marie said cheerfully, blissfully unaware of everything that had been going on. "I hope you don't mind, Jess and Lexi's friend Stefan are staying here for now, Lexi looked like she needed some alone time with Al. Have you met Stefan?"

"I, uh, yeah, we've met." She said, looking sadly at Stefan. He gave her a knowing look.

She could tell he was dying to berate her for being so foolish as to go to Klaus, to try and save Al, but there was nothing he could say in front of the humans.

"Carrie, you look sad, is everything ok? Marie asked.

"I'm fine, just, weird day."

"It's about to get weirder." Jess smiled, motioning towards the bed.

Caroline looked at her bed, there was a rolled up parchment tied with a ribbon sitting there.

"Some guy told me to give it to you." Jess shrugged. "He thought your name was Caroline."

"Oh, yeah. Caroline's my full name. Carrie is just like a nickname." She shrugged. There was no point in keeping up that charade.

"Really? I like Carrie better." Jess shrugged. "Well, are you going to open it?"

Caroline opened it, finding the familiar style of sketch more heartbreaking than she could have imagined. It was a picture of the two of them. She remembered the day fondly, their first trip to Tokyo. He was so happy to have finally fulfilled the promise she had once rolled her eyes at. Rome, Paris, Tokyo. They were sitting at the edge of the little Koi pond in the gardens, he was kissing the side of her face as she looked at the fish swim around.

There was an inscription in the bottom right corner.

**Caroline, **

**I'm not giving up.**

**You and me and no one else.**

**-Klaus.**

She stared at it for a moment, considering ripping it up out of anger, but finding herself unable to do so. Instead all she could do was cry. She hated him and loved him at the same time. He had ruined everything and she wanted to tear him apart, but all she could think about while looking at the picture was how much she wanted to be next to him again. She knew he was being manipulative, trying to get her to remember the good times. She briefly considered setting the drawing on fire, or drawing a red X on his face and sending it back to him. Instead she just kept looking at it, remembering that perfect day.

Jess and Marie peaked over her shoulder and started cooing over the drawing, going on about how romantic they thought it was, immediately figuring out it was from the ex boyfriend she had mentioned a few times. She took a step away from them and let them giggle over the stupid romantic drawing. They had no idea what the real story was.

"We need to get out of here." She whispered to Stefan.

"That's going to be a problem." He whispered back.

"Why?"

"Klaus's witches set a boundary spell. We can't leave campus."


	21. Chapter 21

Caroline, Stefan and Lexi made their way to class. They had British Lit this morning and 20th century American history in the afternoon. When Stefan couldn't get off campus because of the boundary spell, he decided the best thing to do would be to pretend to be a student himself. He was sleeping in Al's room at the frat house, as a way to guard him just in case Klaus struck again, and he was taking classes with Lexi and Caroline.

They made their way into the building just in time to find one of their classmates sprinting out of the room British Lit was held in.

"Whoa, is class canceled?" Lexi asked.

"No, even better." The girl grinned. "Professor Williams had some kind of family emergency, they found someone to take over his classes until he gets back."

"Uh, and you're running out of the room because?" Caroline asked.

"Because he's totally hot! I need to fix my makeup now!"

"A hot professor?" Lexi said, raising an eyebrow at Caroline. "I'll believe this when I see it. Everyone who teaches our classes looks like my grandfather."

They walked into the room and all three of them immediately turned on their heels to walk right back out the door. No fucking way were they sitting through this.

Someone stepped in front of the door, and the yellow glint in their eye was a tell that they were a hybrid.

"I wouldn't." He said quietly.

The three of them exchanged nervous glances and took the seats all the way in the back. It wasn't hard to find empty seats there. All the girls had suddenly decided they wanted to be in the front row.

"Miss. Forbes, Miss Branson, and Mr. Salvatore. How nice of you to join us. You were aware that class started exactly two minutes ago?" Klaus said, turning around from the board he was scribbling an outline on.

"What are you doing?" Caroline demanded.

"Oh, allow me to introduce myself. You see, Miss Forbes, the students that arrived on time have already heard this, but I am Professor Mikaelson, filling in for Professor Williams."

"Why are you doing this?" She asked, causing some raised eyebrows among the class. No one understood why she seemed so mad at their new professor.

"Well that's a long story, and we already have a lot to discuss today. Great Expectations."

"More like, I should have expected a stunt like this." She muttered, only loud enough for the vampires in the room to hear.

He pretended to rifle through a stack of papers for his notes, but she caught him smiling. He thought he was getting to her, forcing her to have to deal with an hour and a half of being in the same room as him.

"Who wants to start with Pip? Can anyone explain how his character changes over the course of the novel?" He asked the class.

Every hand in the first three rows went up.

Caroline slouched in her chair, boiling with rage. God, he was annoying. He looked so smug in his stupid little outfit, all dressed up like a real professor. She hated the way he leaned on the desk as he spoke, she hated how he knew every line from the book by heart. She hated how his face lit up when someone offered some decent insight into the characters, and how he would end up jumping in and adding his own thoughts, trying to provoke a more complex discussion.

Of course he would be good at this. He was a natural leader, and he had centuries of knowledge stacked up in that stupid brain of his. She rolled her eyes every time he spoke or glanced over at her.

He circled the room as the discussion veered off in different directions, occasionally stopping and looking over at one the books every student had open in front of them.

"A truly excellent character, everyone turn to page 83 so we can get a closer look at how the scenery around Miss Havisham works as characterization. Mr. Salvatore, won't you read starting with the second paragraph?"

Caroline glanced at Stefan, who was tensed up with Klaus standing so close. He was ticked off with the little power trip Klaus was having, playing teacher.

"And what does the existence of a character like Miss Havisham say about the concept of love in this story?" Klaus said.

Most of the students in the room raised their hands. Caroline just looked down at her desk, waiting for class to be over.

"Miss Forbes?"

He was leaning in front of her desk, looking right into her eyes, a smile playing at one side of his mouth. She could tell he really thought it would be this easy, that he would parade around in front of her and she would beg him to take her back.

"That it causes nothing but pain and it's not worth it."

"Really? That's what you saw? What about the decades Havisham spent trapped in the moment of her doomed wedding? The symbolism of the dress and the one shoe? The way she raises Estella to defend herself against falling into the same trappings?"

"Maybe Havisham wouldn't have turned out so wretched if her fiance wasn't such a monumental dick." Caroline retorted.

"Language, Miss Forbes. But I do agree, Havisham's fiance _leaving_ her was an impossibly cruel act."

"Insight, Professor Mikaelson." She said, mocking his accent and the intonation of his words to her, causing a few horrified looks from her fellow students. "Maybe if you weren't so caught up in romantic notions of love you would see Havisham for the monster she is. And you would see that Havisham knows nothing about love. You can't blame the person who left for the horrible things she did after."

"And her love for Estella? The way she repents to Pip, begging his forgiveness? Does that show nothing of her capacity to love?"

"She manipulated Estella. She was horrible to Pip. They were relationships built on lies and selfishness. No repenting can change that."

"So you don't believe in forgiveness? In people learning from their mistakes? In second chances?"

"Havisham hasn't changed, she never learned from her mistakes." She challenged.

"I think she did." He argued. "I think it nearly killed her, knowing what she did to them. I think the guilt consumes her and she desperately needed them to forgive her."

"Some things are beyond forgiving."

"And some things are worth fighting for." He retorted.

Every eye in the classroom was on the two of them and the heated discussion they were having, completely blocking out the room full of people watching them. It seemed like they were talking about something other than the book.

He cleared his throat and looked at his watch.

"Well, that's all the time we have for now. See you Thursday, I expect the response papers in my inbox by midnight."

Caroline bolted for the door.

"And Miss Forbes, I need to speak to you for a moment. About your most recent assignment."

"I have another class." She said, holding on to Lexi, watching the other students file out, all giving her jealous or incredulous looks.

"I'm aware of your schedule."

"I don't want to be late." She said, watching the rest of the students except Stefan and Lexi disappear.

"You won't be."

"It's in ten minutes."

"I know."

"I need to leave now."

"You won't be late for class, Caroline, because you're going to skip it."

"Don't you think you've had enough fun for one day?" Stefan challenged.

"You two can leave." Klaus said, waving at Stefan and Lexi.

"Like hell we are." Stefan challenged.

"Ripper, when I tear your arms off and Damon's, would you prefer me to beat you over the head with your own arm, or his?"

"So much for learning from mistakes" Caroline grumbled.

"Now, love, Rome wasn't built in a day."

Lexi glanced nervously to Stefan and back to Klaus.

"Miss Branson, remove him and yourself before I do something rash."

"It's fine." Caroline said to her. "Just go. I can handle him."

The door shut and they were alone.

"Why do you have to do that?" She challenged.

"Do what?"

"Prove you're the alpha?"

"I don't have to prove anything, love. I am the alpha."

"Hmmpft."

"Why did you run?" He said, glaring right through her.

She froze. He had cut right to the center of it. She wasn't ready to have the conversation, but he wouldn't let her dodge it any longer.

"Honestly... I thought you didn't love me anymore. I couldn't bear another day of it, being the only one who was still in our relationship."

"How could you think that?" He said, his eyes softening. He didn't understand.

"You were always gone. I couldn't get through to you. Even when you were home it was always about hybrids."

"I wanted to keep you safe, build an army."

"And how much do you need to build? Don't you have enough?"

"I don't know what's enough, better more to be safe."

"We are safe! You can't seriously think you need more."

"If anything happened to you..."

"If anything happened to me, my last thought would be that I wished I had more time with you, that I wished you were there next to me every day instead of going off making hybrids."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.

"I was afraid. And I've brought up the hybrids before. You made it clear you wouldn't budge on that. You care about them more than me."

"How can you say that? I've never given you a reason to be afraid."

"It's true, isn't it."

"No, Caroline. You're always the most important. I don't know how we got so lost. I never knew you felt this way."

"No point in talking about it now. Just let me go." She said quietly.

"Let you go?" He asked. "Is that what you want?"

"You tortured my friend. You called me a lot of things I'm not. What am I supposed to do?"

"You're supposed to be with me!" He shouted. "How can you not see that?"

"I don't know how to be with you after this."

"We can make it work, we always make it work." He pleaded.

"Maybe that's the problem! We always make it work, when sane people would know when to move on. After how it all started? You tricked me into falling in love with you."

"I don't regret that. You never would have given me a chance otherwise."

"And maybe I shouldn't have. Maybe this was all a huge mistake."

"No." he said. "I've lived a thousand years, and I've made a lot of mistakes, but us being together was not one. However, losing you, letting this slip though my fingers, that would be the greatest mistake of my life."

"Lift the boundary spell." She challenged. "Let me leave."

"No boundary spell can keep me from finding you. This just cuts down on the time wasted running."

"You can't force this. Maybe this is a sign that we shouldn't be together anymore." She said.

"I don't believe that." He said.

She looked at him, aching to be in his arms, but trying to stand strong, refuse to let him see how easy it was to sway her to come back. She couldn't. Not like this.

"I love you." He said quietly. "Do you still love me?"

"Yes. That's what makes this so difficult." She said.

"No, it makes this something worth fighting for."

"Klaus, I can't do this." She said, wiping away tears.

He watched her waver where she stood, exhausted from crying. She was falling apart and he felt guilt for it all. He wanted to fix it, but he didn't know where to begin.

"You have to." He begged. "You have to try, because I can't survive without you. I can't go back to what life was like before."

She smiled through her tears, looking up at him. It was getting harder and harder to keep away.

"Did you miss me that much?" She said softly.

"You have no idea." He responded.

She dropped the arms that had been folded across her chest, and he took it as a signal that she wasn't trying to guard herself from him anymore.

He moved across the room and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close against him. She flinched, and yelled for him to let go, not to touch her, she pounded on his chest with her fists, but he only held on tighter.

"You can't do this to me. You're breaking my heart." She sobbed, giving up on fighting him and instead crying into his chest. The familiar smell and feel of him only made her hurt more. She missed him so much it made her ache. But she was afraid of letting him back in. He would only hurt her more.

His hands smoothed her hair as he held her firmly against him.

"Please, let me fix it." He asked once more.

She didn't say anything in response. She didn't have the will in her to tell him no again. She just wanted what they used to have.

They stood there for hours, just holding each other. She couldn't say anything at all, he would occasionally repeat his promises to fix things. It had all been said, it was all laid bare. She didn't have anything else to say, and she was afraid to hope. But she couldn't just let go.

Eventually she broke away, and left. He tried to follow her, but she said she needed time alone to think. He respected it and stayed behind.

* * *

When she made it back to the dorms, Lexi and Stefan were waiting with ice cream, boxes of tissues, and shoulders to cry on. They listened to everything without judgement or advice. They just let her sort through her feelings out loud and promised to be there for her, whatever she chose.

Another drawing slipped under her door that night. It was her, sitting on that bed upstairs at the house Bonnie found all those years ago. It was the night he had gotten his body back. She was so confused by everything she felt that night. She wondered why he picked that image of her to draw, what the significance of it was.

There was an inscription on the bottom.

**If you give me a chance, I promise I can make it right.**

**Tomorrow, 8 pm, the main library.**

**Klaus.**

She showed the note to Stefan who sighed and handed it to Lexi.

"You're going, aren't you?" Stefan concluded.

She nodded.

He took a moment to let it sink in. She wouldn't admit it just yet, but she had made her decision. It wasn't one he particularly liked, but it was her choice to make.

"Alright." Stefan sighed. "It's your call."

"Stefan, just because I'm going to meet with him doesn't mean we're getting back together."

"Sure it doesn't." He conceded, pretending to believe her.

She nodded and reached for the ice cream Lexi was holding out sympathetically.

"Do you hate me?" She asked Lexi.

Lexi gave Stefan a knowing look and tousled his hair.

"I've learned to take the good with the bad when it comes to my friends. I'll never hate you. Just don't expect Al and I to double date with you and him."

Caroline laughed for the first time in what felt like forever.

Lexi smiled and hugged her.

Stefan join in the hug.

"You're going to be ok, Care." he said reassuringly.

For the first time in weeks, she believed it.


	22. Chapter 22

**Wow, it's been a while! Sorry for keeping everyone waiting, I've been so busy writing prowl and haven't had a chance to work on this story. but here it is, finally an update. This story is on it's way to an end though, so there'll be only one more chapter after this one. Thanks to everyone who has stuck around to read and review. I really appreciate all your imput and the fact that you've taken the time to read this. **

* * *

Lexi and Caroline were laughing in the hall bathroom, trying to wave the fumes out the window.

"Does it burn? You're not going to fry your hair off, are you?" Lexi asked.

"It's fine. I've done this before. It's just taking longer than I thought to get all the red out." Caroline said.

Lexi checked a few strands.

"Almost there."

"Good. It'll make me feel like myself again."

"Is it about him?" Lexi asked.

"No. I don't think he even notices things like that. I just... I dyed it when I was hiding, and now that I'm not, it just feels right to go back, don't you think?"

"Welcome back to team blonde" Lexi joked.

"Becca used to call it team barbie." Caroline smiled. "Oh god, Becca! I haven't even called her since he showed up. She's probably so mad at me."

"I'll get my phone." Lexi shrugged.

Lexi came back into the bathroom with her phone. "Wait. This is the Becca that's his sister? Rebekah?"

"Yeah, you would like her. She's fun."

"Stefan's mentioned her." Lexi smiled. "They've been on and off for the past few years, ever since the whole Elena and Damon thing."

"Yeah. Off right now. I still think they're going to get back together, though." Caroline smiled.

Lexi stepped out to give her some privacy.

"Remember to wash that out in ten minutes!" She shouted as she left "You don't want to go back to your psycho original asshole with fried hair." Lexi teased.

Caroline stuck her tongue out as she dialed Rebekah's number on Lexi's phone.

"Hello?" said the voice on the other line.

"Becca? It's me. Caroline."

"Oh god, Caroline. Nik told me he found you, what were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to put you in the middle of it."

"So you just ran away? I didn't warrant a call? Nothing?"

"Rebekah, you know he would have tried to get it out of you. I didn't want to put you in the middle. I'm sorry."

"I thought we were family."

"Becca. It had nothing to do with how I feel about you. You're the closest thing I've ever had to a sister. You know that."

"I could say the same about you. But how could you make me worry like that?

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry."

"Do you still love him?" Rebekah asked.

Caroline froze. She did. But she didn't want to give Rebekah hope that they would work things out. She didn't know if it could ever happen.

"You don't have to say you do. I understand. My brother can be a bit of an ass." Rebekah said. "I just hope we can still be friends, even if you decide you don't want him anymore. I miss you."

"I miss you too, Becca. And I do love him. I just don't know if we can make it work. We have a lot to sort through."

"He doesn't deserve you." Becca sighed. "At first I didn't see what he saw in you, but now... I can't imagine how he was so lucky to get you to agree to be with him in the first place. I hope you two do end up together, you're the best thing that ever happened to him. But Caroline?"

"Yeah?"

"Make him work for it a little. He could stand to be knocked down a few pegs."

"I think I've already done that, Becca."

"True." Rebekah sighed. "He'd dagger me for saying it, but I've never seen him in worse condition than when you left. It was like someone ripped his heart out and he was just a shell walking around. He cried when he thought no one would notice and went on violent rampages when people were watching. It was horrible. He's not the same without you."

"I miss him too." Caroline said.

"Then why all this?"

"I miss parts of him I'm not sure if I can get back."

"Caroline, he loves you more than family. We've been around a thousand years but once you were in the picture we were demoted to second place. If anyone can get him back, it's you."

"Becca."

"Don't mind me. Just my usual pity party. Stefan and I are always on the outs because I think he still loves Elena more than he'll ever love me. My brother loves you more than he loves me. I'm always second best."

"Becca, I understand more than you know. Before Nik, I was no one's first choice. I understand what you're going through and I don't ever want to come between you and him. And I'm still holding out hope for you and Stefan. He's staying at the college with me now. You should visit. I think he would like to see you again."

"Another day, maybe." Rebekah sighed.

"I'll put in a good word for you." Caroline sighed. "Don't give up on Stefan. He's worth fighting for."

"I could say the same to you about my brother."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Bye, sis." Rebekah said, reminding Caroline of their special bond. They really were as close to sisters as anyone could get.

"Bye, sis."

Caroline hung up the phone and washed the dye out of her hair. She looked back at the blonde girl in the mirror. It felt good to be back.

* * *

He was sitting on one of the benches outside the main entrance for the library. She spotted him and scanned the area for hybrids, but found none.

She looked at him, the way he sat there, looking off into the distance. He looked sad, deep in thought about something. Any one who passed by would think he was just a young professor, taking a break from his day. Maybe a graduate student. The people that walked in and out of the building next to him had no idea what he was.

He scanned his surroundings again, checking the time. She had shown up a little late, wanting to make him wait for her. He was getting nervous that she wouldn't show. His eyes landed on her and she saw him relax and smile before bolting up from his seat to approach her.

"Good evening." he said nervously.

"Hi." she said meekly back.

It was different, with all the tension and anger that surrounded them. All she had seen of him lately had been anger and desperation. It was hard to remember the ease they once had with each other.

"The boundary spell has been lifted. You and your friends are free to do wherever you so choose." he said.

"Thank you."

"That being said, will you still give me a little of your time? There's somewhere we can talk, undisturbed."

"Are you going to torture another one of my friends if I say no?"

"I already apologized for that."

"That doesn't make it right."

"Caroline, I'm trying."

"Fine." she snipped.

He offered her his hand and hesitantly, she accepted. She was a little confused as he led her back into the library and up to the top floor, but it all made sense when she caught sight of the student standing in front of the door to the roof, eyes glazed over with compulsion.

"Seriously?" she asked.

"A little compulsion never hurt anyone, I'll slip a few hundreds in his wallet to make it square, alright love?"

"Said the person who's never been compelled."

He smiled and nodded at the remark, motioning for the compelled young man to step aside.

They walked out on the roof, where a sofa and table from one of the library's lounge rooms sat facing the rest of campus and the setting sun. It was the tallest building around, so it had the best view.

"Who'd you have to compel to drag this up here?" she asked, sitting on the far end of the sofa, hoping he would take a hint and sit at the opposite end, giving her a little space.

"No need for compulsion on things like this, love. I find that many of these students would do a lot more than move a couch in exchange for some beer money."

He pulled out the bag sitting under the table, offering her a glass and holding out a bag of blood and a bottle of red wine.

"Which will it be? Or both?"

Caroline motioned for the wine, nervous about the bloodlust from feeding turning into actual lust, and she didn't know if she had the willpower to fight it.

He poured her a glass and one for himself, then sat in the middle of the couch, entirely too close for her liking.

She could almost touch him. She was breathing in his scent and feeling the body heat radiate from him. It was almost enough to make her shift over just a little and snuggle against him, feeling his warmth against the cool breeze of the evening.

"I know you're still angry with me." he said. "And truthfully, I was mad at you too, at first."

"I don't want to start this conversation all over." she said. "We've already said it all."

"I know. I just need you to know, that everything I did, it was because you mean more to me than you could possibly imagine. It was all because was furious that could walk away, when to me it was never an option. I can not imagine a life without you. I will not survive a life without you."

She sat her glass on the ground and folded her hands in her lap. She looked down at her fingers and remembered every comment her mother had ever made about them not being married. It was stupid and human. She never wanted it the way she used to when she was human. She was uncomfortable enough with being called his Queen. But Liz's jabs still got to her after a while. It was always the lingering suspicion that maybe he wasn't as all in as she was.

She wanted to ask him, but she already knew the answer. He hadn't asked her to marry him, because in his mind it had nothing to do with love. Sure, he knew silly humans did it out of love, but more than half of them would back out on the promises they made to each other. But that was only the present day humans. His centuries around the globe took him to every continent and all of them used marriage as a sort of exchange of property, political alliance, a means of getting rid of unwanted daughters. It wasn't something he would think of doing because he loved her.

"I can promise you it will be different." he offered.

"Different how?"

"The hybrid business. I can find other ways to manage them without being out so much. And I can wait at least a decade before making any more. There are enough of them now, I'd only have to replenish them as they die out."

"The whole time we've been together, you've been focused on creating more hybrids."

"I should have been focused on you above all else. But the hybrids are necessary for our protection."

"So, if we were to... be together again, you wouldn't be out every full moon looking for more wolves?"

"Never. If we need to replenish, I can send someone else out looking."

"And what about the armies of hybrids you already have?"

"I can take a more hands off approach with them. I can delegate responsibilities, send Kol out to scare sense into anyone who steps out of line."

"You were really scary." she said, remembering how he looked when he finally found her. "I've never seen you look at me like that."

"I thought you had... I heard people talking about you and that boy."

"But how could you believe it?"

"It's not that far of a leap, after you left me so suddenly."

"But even if I had been gone forever, there would never be anyone else." She said, shaking her head. "I can't be with anyone else after you. You're it for me. It's you or nothing."

"I've done terrible things to get us here. I did terrible things trying to get you back, trying to punish the people I thought had taken you from me."

"You've spent centuries doing terrible things." she said evenly.

He looked at her warily.

"I knew who you were. I know what you do. It's why it took me so long to admit I felt something for you. But I do. Even now. I still love you. And it scares me, to know that I can love you even when you do such terrible things." she said.

"Caroline, I'll try. I'll be better."

"No." she shook her head.

He felt like someone was tearing him in half. That 'no' was a slamming door, a lid over the only happiness he ever had.

"I don't want you to be better." she said "I just want _us _to be better."

He looked at her, watching the way she carefully leaned forward, getting just a little closer to him.

It didn't seem real. It was like a dream and he had to reach out and touch her to make sure she was real and she was really saying it. She was willing to be with him again.

His hands moved from her shoulders down her arms, making sure she was real, remembering the feel of her skin. He waited for her to flinch away but she didn't.

"Will you give it another chance?" he asked "I don't care if we go to Paris, or Mystic Falls or stay here. I just want us to be together again."

She leaned forward and kissed him.

He felt himself come back to life as her lips met his. It was the fire in his frozen heart, melting him back into the person he forgot he could be.

His hands slid down her back and circled around pulling her closer.

She sighed into the kiss and dragged her fingers through his hair as she went in for more.

He tried to stay still as possible, kiss gently, keep his hands from going anywhere inappropriate. He was dying to dive in completely, take her right there and make her fall apart in the way only he could.

But he wouldn't let it be like this, on some scratchy sofa out on a roof for the world to see. She deserved so much more, and while it would almost kill him to wait a minute longer, he knew it was the right thing to do.

She was making it very difficult, kissing him like that. It got even more difficult when she swung a leg over to climb in his lap, rocking gently against him as she kissed him desperately.

"Is that a yes?" he asked breathlessly, pulling away slightly.

"Yes." she said. "Me and you and no one else."

"Me and you and no one else." he responded, repeating back the words they had first said to each other so long ago.

She shifted a little in his lap, and traced her finger along the collar of his shirt. She looked up and gave him a look he was all too familiar with.

"Caroline" he warned.

"Klaus, I've missed you so much."

"Not here."

"Then let's go downstairs."

"I can do you one better." he offered. "Theres a place we can go."

He pulled out his phone and sent a text.

"There are plenty of places we can go." she said. "This whole campus is filled with places to go."

"I have something specific in mind."

"You're going to make me wait?"

"Just trust me?"

"Ok." she agreed. "Where are we going?"

"We are going to sit right here and wait for the helicopter."

She laughed.

"I'm not joking sweetheart."

"Helicopter." she deadpanned.

"Yes. This roof is large enough to land one. I have a hybrid with a pilot's license. I don't know why this is so surprising to you, love. It's like you hardly know me at all."

"You think fancy helicopter rides are going to impress me?"

"No, but the place we're going might."

"You thought you could win me back by taking me somewhere fancy?"

"I already have you back. And I'm not letting you go ever again." he said.

She opened her mouth to deny it, maybe stir up a little banter and pretend he hadn't already gotten her to admit she never stopped being in love with him, even when she was running. But it was no use. He could always see right through her.

"Besides." he added, "The place we're going it quite the opposite of fancy."

* * *

Kol walked Bonnie back into her house, pausing at the doorframe to lift her up and carry her over.

"Put me down you crazy original!" she said.

"You love it, darling."

"Hmft!" she huffed, trying to wiggle out of his grasp.

"I think I should check for intruders." he offered. "It's been quite some time since you've been home. Better safe than sorry."

"You're the intruder." she said. "I'm seriously regretting ever inviting you into this house."

"Well it was that or I would have shagged you senseless on your front porch that first time. I'm sure you neighbors appreci- oww!"

He rubbed the back of his head where she had pelted him with a shoe.

"You know I like it a bit rough, but shoes, Bonnie?"

"We are so never going there again." she warned.

"That's not what your little witchy visions said." he teased.

She pretended to be busy checking the mail.

Kol checked his phone and saw a message.

"Seems like Niklaus is back to playing nice with you, darling. He's already asking me about a favor."

"A favor from me? He has plenty of his own witches."

"None of them Bennetts."

"Tell your brother he wants the best, he has to pay for the best."

"I like your sass. What are you going to make him buy you this time?"

"First let me see what he's asking."

Kol showed her the text.

"Oh my God." Bonnie whispered.

"Can you do it?" Kol asked.

"Of course, it's a Bennett spell, but wow. How does he even know about this? Is he sure?"

"I doubt he would ask if wasn't."

"And Caroline?"

"You'd have to ask her yourself."

"I'm only doing it if it's what Caroline wants."

Kol followed her to the study where she pulled out an old Grimoire and flipped to the right page.

"That's going to take a lot of energy." He said, looking down the page. "Will you be able to channel enough?"

"I've done spells this big before. You don't need to worry."

"I like worrying about you. But this is a lot he's asking of you. I've heard rumors about this spell, although I've never actually met anyone who had it done. Are you sure you're up to it?"

"Tell your brother I want a Yacht. A big one. And I'm only doing this if Caroline agrees and she knows exactly what she's getting into."

Kol smirked at her. "I'll tell him your price."

"And Kol?"

"Yes?"

"If he's going to ask her, he should get a ring. She would want it that way, something human about it."

"You know it's not the same as asking someone to m-"

"I know what it is. But I think she still would like it that way."

"I'll tell Niklaus." he said.

* * *

Klaus watched as the last slivers of sunlight dipped below the horizon. Caroline was curled against him, holding his hand. He didn't know if he had ever been happier than he was in that moment, finally able to breathe now that she was back.

He had something playing in the back of his mind, though. It was something he had spent the last few years thinking about. At first, he was certain it was just a story, and there was no truth to it at all. But he dug deeper and found hints and whispers, and he followed them to the source. It didn't surprise him at all that it was a Bennett spell. They were the most powerful of the old family lines. Of course it would be them. It was just an interesting turn of fate that the latest Bennett was a close friend of Caroline's. He had just that morning sent out a message to Kol with a request. His brother had been sniffing around the Bennett girl long enough now, Klaus was certain he would be able to find her and ask her to do the spell. Although if Kol didn't want a dagger in his back for the next century, he would do his best to convince Bonnie to have a child before he even thought about turning her. It would be a shame if such a powerful line of witches died out.

It had been a while since he found out it was a possibility. But he had waited, thinking he would find the right moment eventually. It wasn't that he was unsure of if he wanted it. He did. Even with how it could weaken him, it was what he wanted. But he was so unsure of what she wanted, if she would say yes. The past few months had been so rough with him always gone and her always mad, and that was before she ran. Now it seemed even more unlikely that she would say yes. The ring had been in his possession for months. He had carried it with him ever since she left. It was in his pocket right now. She would like it, a way to connect it to human things. But he still didn't think she would say yes.

"I've been a vampire for over a thousand years." he said. "And I've never been sick. Not even a cold. We heal too fast, our bodies are too strong."

"One of the perks of being an immortal, I guess." Caroline said.

"When you left, I felt like I was sick. It was... I forgot it was possible to feel so much pain without bleeding."

"I never meant to hurt you." she said.

"It reminded me of the old legends." he said, carefully watching her reaction, "Have you ever heard them? The legends of the bound hearts?"

"No." she shook her head.

"It's an old story. I heard it for the first time perhaps two hundred years after I was turned. Back then, there were few vampires, but in many parts of the world they chose not to hide what they were from the humans. The villages were so isolated, it was easy to get people to behave out of fear. There was a witch who told me a story of two vampires who loved each other very much."

Caroline took a sip of her drink and nodded along to his story.

"At the time, I didn't think much of it, I didn't much care for love stories, but it ended with an interesting spell that caught my attention. You see, these two vampires loved each other so much that they couldn't bear to live without one another, and they made a bargain with a witch, in exchange for the promise of protecting her lineage."

He paused to watch her reaction, and then continued.

"The witch did a spell, she called it the binding heart spell. It tied the two vampires to each other in a way that had never been done before. Neither could be killed unless the other was killed at the precise same moment. They shared a life force that made it impossible for one to die without the other. Naturally, I wanted to have it done. Imagine how much harder it could be for Mikael to kill me if he had to also find someone else and kill them at the same time? But the witch explained the spell to me and I knew I couldn't have it."

He absently touched the spot in his pocket where the right was sitting.

"You see, the spell gave them something extra, but it also tied them in other ways. The two vampires couldn't go long without being close to each other, or they would feel sick and weak. If they were apart for even a few days they wouldn't have half their strength. The spell could never be reversed, even by the same witch who cast it. And it made them connect to their very souls. It would be impossible for them to lie to each other, and when one of them was in pain or danger, the other could feel it. The witch told me that they could feel each other's laughter and bliss as well. It was like they were one soul in two bodies."

"I know that story." Caroline said.

"You do?"

"Yes. Someone told it to me when I was little. Although she didn't use the word vampires. That would have probably been to scary at the time. But still, it was the same story."

"Who told you?"

"It was at a sleepover when I was in first grade. Bonnie's Grams told me."

He wanted to ask her what she thought of the story, if she could ever imagine loving someone enough to want to be bound to them for eternity. But the moment was interrupted by the loud noise of the helicopter landing on the opposite end of the roof.

He held his hand over Caroline's head to shield her as they ducked down under the chopping propellers and got into the helicopter. The campus drifted into the distance as they got further away.

It took a while, but he could see they were getting closer to their destination.

"Just crossed over into Virginia." the pilot shouted back at them. "Be there shortly."

"Are we going to Mystic Falls?" Caroline asked.

"No." Klaus said.

"Then where?"

"You'll see."


	23. Chapter 23

** All right, here it is, the final chapter. Thank you for everyone who stuck with this story to the very end and a special thank you to all who reviewed. This was my first attempt at fanfic and I appreciated all the feedback. If you're sad this one is over and you want more, go check out my other stories Heartbeat and Prowl. I also am considering doing some drabbles or oneshots, so if you have any requests, send me a P.M. **

* * *

They landed in a cloud of dirt on the unpaved road.

Caroline felt something familiar about the place but she couldn't quite figure it out.

The helicopter had launched back up into the sky, creating a storm of dust and dirt below it. Klaus pulled her closer to shield her from the debris and she leaned in, letting him hold her close.

She felt guilty about it, going back to him after everything. She knew it meant she had lost some of the human she once was. But that girl died in high school and a new Caroline took her place. Vampire Caroline had killed people, even if only by accident, and that changed a person. She had to leave her life in Mystic Falls behind, now that she had spent enough years not aging and people would start to notice. Having to give up big chunks of your human life makes you just a little less like the person you once were. She was different now. Different enough to love him. Different enough to still love him after she saw the worst in him.

He was someone that struck fear into the hearts of the most ruthless members of the supernatural community. He had taken countless lives. Yet he was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

She knew he needed work. He wasn't perfect. The way he handled her running away had made that painfully obvious. But she needed work too. Running away instead of staying and dealing with the problems was a childish move. In her defense, she was a thousand years younger than him, so she felt she was entitled to acting childish every once in a while.

But now they were back. They were together. It wasn't like the slate was wiped clean, there would be rebuilding after what they had been through. She could tell in the way he touched her. It was careful, gentle as if she might break, and at the same time so possessive. He was nervous about her slipping through his fingers. She could tell he was ready to chase her at a moment's notice should she decide to run again. It would take time to convince him that she didn't want to run ever again.

Sure, it was fun to be on her own. She loved getting to meet new friends and being able to be around people who didn't treat her like their Queen. But every night when she fell asleep, her mind went to him. She wished she could have it all, both the freedom to wander off and not be constantly trailed by hybrid guards and still be with him every single day. She was already thinking of negotiating a deal with him about staying on campus for the year. After all, she had always pictured herself going to college, and he made a really good lit professor. Maybe they could find a place to stay off campus. They'd have to be a little sneaky, it would be a bit of a scandal if a student and professor were shaking up together, but that would all be part of the fun.

"Do you know where we are?" he asked, interrupting her thoughts.

She looked around. They were on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. When he said it wasn't anywhere fancy, he really meant it.

"We're out in some creepy back road I'd worry about getting murdered on if I was still human."

"You really have no idea where we might be?"

"Was something from your past in this spot? From when you were human?"

"Oh, this place is from the past. Ours. Just a little further."

She followed him down the dirt road, trying to recount a time they had been out in the country in Virginia. They really hadn't been in this area since they left Mystic Falls all those years ago.

Then it came into view.

"Oh." she said, a wave of nostalgia hitting her.

It looked exactly the same.

"So you remember." he smiled.

"Of course." she said, looking at the old farmhouse in front of him. "This is where it all began."

"I thought maybe we could have a little time to ourselves here, give me a chance to acquit myself. I figured if I tried to give you something expensive as an apology you would through it right back at me. And any other gesture seemed hollow. So here it is. This is the place I managed to convince you to give me a chance the first time around, so I thought perhaps it would work again."

"You don't have to convince me. I'm already here."

"And I'm glad. But if we're going to do this, we're going to do it right. I can't handle you leaving again. So let me prove to you I can be the man you need me to be."

Every memory came back as she walked up those steps.

"How did you know it would still be empty?" she asked.

"I bought it, a few months after we left Mystic Falls. Bonnie was looking to buy it, but she let me have it instead, since she was so happy with the house I gave her."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I've been sending hybrids out to renovate, apparently even with all the money and compulsion in the world, it still takes forever to get these things done. It's only been ready a few month, I was waiting for the right time to surprise you. Actually, it was going to be a birthday present."

"A birthday you forgot."

"A mistake I won't make twice, I assure you."

He opened the door and guided her in.

"It has furniture." she said, looking around. "And paint."

"I wouldn't bring you here if it wasn't presentable. There's running water and electricity as well. All the comforts of modern life."

"Coming from someone who lived centuries without them."

"I also lived for centuries without you. That doesn't mean I'd want to go back to the way things were before."

She walked around the downstairs rooms, in awe of what he had done. Everything had been fixed up. What's more was that it was just the way she would have done it. Either he had done some serious snooping or he knew her much better than she had given him credit for.

"Oh wow." she breathed, looking into the kitchen. It was all authentic restored vintage appliances, soft colors and rounded shapes from the 1960's, with just a few hints of modern technology. A retro looking microwave and coffee maker blended in seamlessly with the real vintage appliances.

"Not my favorite decade, but you said you liked the style of these things."

"My grandmother kept her kitchen the same her whole life, It looked just like this."

"You showed me the picture."

"You did all this from a picture?"

"I thought it was what you would have wanted?"

She wiped a tear away that she hadn't even felt fall.

"It's perfect."

"Let me show you the rest."

They walked around and she took in the sights of all the rooms he had created out of the blank spaces that used to be there. Every one was a reaffirmed what she already knew. He understood her in ways no one else could.

He showed her the downstairs bedroom they had slept in all those years ago. The flimsy mattress on the floor had been replaced by a plush king sized bed. The room was sparse, walls kept white except for one. A map of the world stretched out along one wall, and to the side was an end table with two glass jars, one full of red thumbtacks and the other filled with blue.

"What's this?" she asked.

He picked up one of the red ones and found the spot where Mystic Falls would be, and pushed the tack into the wall.

"The red ones are for places you've been. The blue ones are for places you want to go."

"And what about places I want to go back to? I still don't think I've seen all there is to see in Rome."

"I like it when you're demanding."

"I could always go on my own. No one says you have to come with and play tour guide." she teased, feigning indifference. As if she could ever go back to traveling without him.

"I could send Kol to watch over you if you're so insistent on going without me."

"And spend the whole time deflecting prying questions about Bonnie? Pass."

"Kol doesn't put that much effort in if he knows he doesn't have a shot. I'm guessing your friend Bonnie must have given him some indication that she enjoys his company."

"You mean other than the dozens of times they've hooked up?" Caroline scoffed.

Klaus looked genuinely surprised.

"They what now?"

"Kol didn't tell you?"

"You think my brother and I discuss things like that with each other? We have some decorum."

"Oh. Bonnie told me a while ago, I just assumed Kol would have told you. So you didn't know that they've kind of had a casual sex thing going on for the past couple years?"

"No. I thought he was just infatuated with her and that she perhaps flirted back. I had no idea. Although I suppose it makes sense that he didn't say anything to me. Kol would suspect I'd be mad about it."

"Why?"

"I'd rather see your friend Bonnie settle down with a nice human, maybe start a family."

"You mean start the next generation of Bennett witches."

"There are few witches in the world so powerful. I would know, love. I've been around for quite some time."

"I don't think a baby is on the menu for Bonnie right now. But I doubt she'd let Kol turn her either, if that's what you're worried about."

He nodded. "So you and Bonnie discuss these things, she tells you all about her dalliances with my brother and god knows who else."

"There's no one else. As much as she likes to pretend to keep things casual with Kol, she's only been with him for a while now."

He smirked and shot her a devilish grin.

"What else do you girls talk about?"

"Nothing." she lied, seeing what he was getting at.

"Oh no." he shook his head. "If she's telling you, you're telling her things too."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Caroline said, moving along the side of the bed to put the object between them.

"Should I be worried, sweetheart?" he asked, pacing around the bed towards her, taking one step closer to her for every one she took away from him.

"Do you really think so low of me?" she teased, circling the bed.

"Did you tell her about that time in Paris?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You're going to have to be specific. There were so many times in Paris."

"You know what I'm talking about. We didn't leave the hotel room for a week."

He was pacing around in circles, and she was skipping ahead, just out of his reach.

"Nope. Not a word about that one." she said.

"That was some of my best work. If you're going to be blabbing to your friends about us, you could at least make me look good."

"I might have told her about that time on the beach in Bali." she giggled.

"I knew it!" he said, catching her and flinging her on the bed. "You and the Bennett witch have dirty little chats about us."

"Well it's not like I can talk to Bekah or Stefan about that kind of thing..."

"Did you tell her about how we bit each other just as you were about to-"

"Klaus! She's not a vampire, that would gross her out."

"Does that mean she wouldn't like the part about how you scratched up my back so much I'd still have scars if I was human."

"Again, the blood thing isn't really so hot to her. And I can't be held responsible for that. You know how you get under a full moon."

"I know how you get, when we're together during a full moon. Are you sure you aren't part wolf?"

"You're wolf enough for the both of us."

"So what do you tell her?"

She looked up to him, where he hovered over her on the bed.

"Just that... when I'm with you, it's the most amazing thing in the world. There's nothing like it."

"I can live with that." he murmured, kissing her neck.

* * *

They were in bed, spending another lazy morning talking about placed they had been and places they wanted to go. Caroline would get up occasionally to push more pins into the map.

"How long are we staying here?" she asked.

"That depends. How long do you want to stay?" he responded.

"I want to go back to the college. I want to finish the semester at least."

"You have your whole life to go to college. Stay here and make up for lost time with me. I spent close to a month without you."

"And we've been here for over a week. I have tests, you know. Research papers."

"You could always compel the professors to give you better grades."

"That's not the point. I liked it. It was a human experience I thought I was going to miss out on. And Stefan's staying, I have friends there."

"So you want to go back now? Tonight?" he offered.

"Just a few more days here with you. Then I'll be ready to go back and face the world."

"And when we get back? Then what?" he asked.

"You're going to have to play nice. Not terrorize my friends. Including Stefan."

"I'm not good at nice. And I only terrorize Stefan when he makes my baby sister cry."

"She's done worse to him."

"You're not still holding out hope for him and Elena, are you?"

"No, I think Stefan and Rebekah are a better match. I used to think it would be Stefan and Elena forever, but she's changed a lot since she became a vampire. And even before, Stefan always had to be so careful to hide his vampire side. He can be his real self with Bekah, the good and the bad, and she won't judge. But they're going to take their time working all their issues out."

"Rebekah can be very dramatic."

"Hmm, sounds like something that runs in the family."

He took a chance and decided to bring up the spell again.

"What did you think of the story I told you earlier? About the spell with the binding hearts?"

"I think it was a nice story. I can see why the witches tell it. It's about a love that lasts forever and about two people who are stronger together than apart."

"Would you do it? With me?"

"It's just a story." she said. "It's not real."

"But would you? If it was?"

"I feel like we already have. I don't want to be apart again. I don't want to ever lie to you. Yes. I would do it."

"You understand that it's not reversible? And that we would feel each other's emotions. If we did it, you would be tied to me forever. You would live as long as I would live. And because I can't be killed by anything but a single white oak stake, forever would be a very long time."

"It would be perfect." Caroline said. "It would be perfect if it was real."

* * *

They were walking through the woods, trying to find the lake they had once swam in so many years ago.

"I can hear it" she said. "I remember how you taught me to listen for it."

"We're almost there." he said, taking her hand.

She caught sight of something different out in the woods.

They reached the cliff the jutted out over the lake.

"What did you do?" she whispered.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

She looked out at the woods around them. The trees were all lit up with little twinkling lights

"Wow." she whispered.

He reached from behind one of the trees and found the little music player and turned it on.

"Dance with me?" he asked.

She took his hand and followed in the familiar motions, moving slowly through the clearing in the trees.

"Do you remember this song?" he asked.

"The ball your family had. We danced to this. It was the first time we danced together."

"You hated me."

"You turned my boyfriend into one of your hybrid lackeys. Besides, don't act like you were thrilled with me either that night."

"I don't know what you mean, sweetheart. I've always been enthralled by you."

"Not that night. You tried to show me your paintings and I ended up yelling at you for... being you."

"You were honest. I needed to hear it."

"You told me to leave."

"I got over it quickly."

"And now look at us." she said, shaking her head.

He twirled her around and they continued to dance.

"I don't know how you ended up looking past everything, how you decided to give me a chance, but I'm glad you did."

"You don't always make it easy."

"I know." he said. "Thank you."

She slid closer to him as they danced so her chin rested on his shoulder.

"I love you." she said.

"I love you too." he said. "Always and forever."

"Always and forever. Me and you and no one else." she said.

"Me and you and no one else." he repeated.

The music stopped and they stayed where they were, swaying in place. Slowly, he broke away from her and took a step back. He took a deep breath, as if he was preparing for something.

She tilted her head. He looked nervous.

"Klaus, are you ok?"

"I need to say something."

"Ok."

"I don't ever want us to be apart again."

"I don't want that either."

"Caroline, I don't ever want us to be apart again. Ever. I want to be with you forever. I want to celebrate your hundredth birthday and your thousanth. And... I need you with me. I need your light, I need what makes you who you are. I want us to spend the rest of our very long lives together. It's not about getting married or anything human like that. But I can do you one better."

He hesitated, gaging her reaction. She looked stunned, at a lost for words.

He found the ring in his pocket and pulled it out, bending down.

"It's real. The spell is real and there's someone that can do it. Right now, if you want. Or whenever you're ready. We can be together forever. All you have to do is say yes."

She looked down at him, at the ring he was holding.

Normally she would be speaking a mile a minute, but for once in her life, Caroline was silent.

She just looked at him. Sure, she had been in love before. And people had said it back and they promised forever. Words, anyone could do. But this was something more. And he was the most powerful supernatural creature on the planet and he was picking her for forever.

"Caroline?" he asked, his voice shaking a little.

She blinked. It was really happening.

"Yes! she said, pulling him up. "Oh my god, yes!"

He smiled. Not a smirk, an actual smile.

* * *

A few months later

* * *

"You know this isn't a wedding, right?" Klaus shouted through the door.

"Will you shut up and let me wear what I want to wear?" Caroline said.

"Caroline." he whined "This isn't really how this is supposed to work."

"Will you just go outside and wait with everyone else?" Bonnie shouted through the door.

"If this was a real wedding, you'd be the priest, and it hardly seems fitting that you get to be locked in the bathroom with her and I don't." Klaus protested.

"Out!" Bonnie shouted. "And get Stefan!"

"Now this part is really ridiculous, why does some other man have to march her up to me?"

"It's a tradition." Caroline protested. "And stop being all jealous. Stefan is filling in for my dad today, not for you."

"This isn't a bloody human wedding!" Klaus said. "This was supposed to be just us and Bonnie to do the spell!"

"You're the one who told your siblings. Did you really think Rebekah would miss a chance to throw a party?"

"How long am I going to have to stand out there with your mother and my siblings and all your friends?"

"Not much longer, now go. You're distracting us."

"Can I just see what you lo-"

"No!"

Klaus grunted his annoyance and trudged out to the backyard. Bonnie's supplies for the spell were all set up on a white linen sheet on the grass, and their guests were milling around the yard with champagne glasses and chatting.

Liz was walking over to him. He tried to bite back his contempt and be polite. It was Caroline's mother, and he needed to be nice today.

"I guess if I had one of these I would have found out my husband was gay a lot sooner." she joked.

He smiled weakly.

"Caroline told me about this. The part where you can't lie to each other is... reassuring to me, as a parent. You two are brave, doing this. It takes a lot of courage to commit to someone life, especially for as long as life can be for you.

He just nodded. He had never had the best repertoire with Liz Forbes.

"You know, if she was human, she'd be in her twenties. She'd still be so young. You're over a thousand years old. I'm sure you can understand why I'm not thrilled with this. Especially considering her history with much older men manipulating her."

"She told you about Damon." he said.

"A few years ago. It's not really something she likes to talk about with me. She's more the forgive and move on type, where I don't feel better until someone's punished. Typical cop I guess."

"You and I have that in common." he said.

Klaus glanced over to where Damon stood, chatting with Elena and Elijah across the lawn.

"You know, I thought he would have looked much nicer in pieces, scattered across the lawn." Klaus suggested. "But Caroline made me promise not to dismember any of her guests."

Liz laughed weakly, not entirely sure if he was joking.

"I'm going to need another drink for this." she said, walking away.

He found Stefan and sent him inside, then found the spot where Bonnie told him to stand. He was ready. He wanted it to be done. The waiting was gnawing at his nerves.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Elijah asked, walking up to him.

He turned to look at Elijah.

"Once again, your input is not needed, brother." Klaus scoffed.

"If you're looking for a way to protect yourself from death, this probably isn't the best idea."

"You know that isn't what this is about."

"I've heard the stories about this spell. I always imagined if any of us would use it, it would be Rebekah. She's always been so desperate for love, so hungry to hold on to it."

"Says the person who protected Katerina for all those centuries."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please, Elijah. If she was left to her own devices, I would have found and killed her in the first decade. I know you were looking out for her."

"I think we should keep the focus on you today."

"Did you know she insisted on wearing a white dress? She's making Stefan walk her our here. It's outrageous, the way she clings to these human things."

"It's what you love about her. You don't have to pretend you're not enjoying it. Everyone will still be afraid of you even if you let slip that you actually want to see her walk up to you in that white dress."

Klaus tried to come back with something cutting, but the music of a compelled band started playing.

Bonnie walked in and everyone gathered around.

She nodded to Klaus and he felt himself getting jittery. This was what he wanted, he was sure of it. But what if she backed out at the last minute? What if she had changed her mind?

Then the back door opened.

Stefan stepped out first, holding his arm out to help her down the steps.

Caroline stepped into view in a wash of fluttering white gauze and silk, covered in crystals that made her sparkle. Everyone was looking at her, but her eyes went straight to him.

Klaus's heart dropped into his stomach and he forgot to breathe.

A flash went off and he snapped back to reality, picking up his jaw and taking a deep breath.

She looked beautiful. She looked happy. She looked ready.

She made her final step towards him and he stepped forward.

Stefan hugged her and whispered something in her ear, then he looked to Klaus and nodded slightly. Klaus nodded back, appreciating the silent bond he and Stefan were on their way back to getting. They had been brothers once before, almost a century ago. They could be brothers again. He was certain Caroline would insist on it. Stefan was her family too.

Klaus took Caroline's hands and brought her to the spot Bonnie had designated, and they looked into each other's eyes as Bonnie poured a ring of salt around them.

The candles lit up on their own and Bonnie moved around them, setting fire to bowls of herbs and potions.

"Ok, Klaus. Once I do this spell, you will be bound to Caroline for the rest of your lives. You can not be separated for more than a few days without feeling week and sick. You can not tell lies to each other. You will feel what the other feels, good and bad. And you can not die unless the other is killed in the same moment. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes." he said.

"Alright. Caroline. Once I do this spell, you will be bound to Klaus for the rest of your lives. You can not be separated for more than a few days without feeling week and sick. You can not tell lies to each other. You will feel what the other feels, good and bad. And you can not die unless the other is killed in the same moment. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes." Caroline nodded.

"Then let's get started." Bonnie said. She held out a knife. "I'm going to cut both of you in both of your have to be pretty deep cuts so they won't close up before the spell's done. I'll move your hands together and you hold them tight, so the parts of your palms that are bleeding are right up against each other. Then I'm going to put a teaspoon of this potion in each of your mouths. You can swallow it. When I say now, you kiss. Keep your hands locked together and keep kissing until you feel it stop."

"Feel what stop?" Caroline asked. She was starting to get worried. What if she did it wrong?

"You'll know." Bonnie smiled. She found a few ropes and draped them around the two figures, and checked all her candles and burning bowls one more time.

"Ready?" Bonnie asked.

They both nodded.

"Ok." Bonnie said, picking up her knife. "Here goes nothing."

She moved quickly, digging into Klaus's left palm first, then Caroline's right. She locked their hands together, then did the same on the other side.

Bonnie quickly poured the potion into both their mouths. It was strange and earthy tasting with a sharpness that followed it being swallowed. Caroline felt dizzy the second it hit her.

"Now!" Bonnie shouted.

Caroline could feel Klaus's fingers squeezing tighter as they kept their hands locked. Their lips met, and the second they connected something jolted through her. She held on tighter to him as she felt a strange spinning motion. It was a strong pull, something spinning them around but they were still in place. Then she was able to focus on her hands. She could feel the blood moving in a powerful current through the openings in their hands. Their blood was spinning together, spinning into him from her palm and back into her from his. It spun faster and faster until she felt something change. He was still kissing her but she felt it twice. She could feel his lips on hers, but she could also feel hers on him. She was suddenly aware of every part of his body in a way she had never been before. Everything was doubled.

The spinning slowed to a stop and the cuts in their palms healed completely. She broke away and looked back at him in awe.

"It's done." Bonnie said quietly, nudging an opening in the salt ring.

Everyone was clapping and cheering, which seemed to be the appropriate protocol for one of these things, none of them were really sure.

Klaus never looked away from Caroline to even acknowledge the crowd around them.

He moved one of his hands away from hers and traced a finger down her arm, making her shiver. He shuddered as she reacted to his touch.

"I felt that." he whispered.

It wasn't as if he felt it on the same place on his body where he touched hers, it was as if he had nerve endings that reached out through her. As if she was an extension of him.

She reached forward and put her hand on his shoulder to stand on her tiptoes and she kissed the spot behind his ear she knew he liked.

Caroline felt a warm tingly sensation that wasn't anywhere on her own body. She could feel what he was feeling.

"Oh." she whispered. "Wow."

They smiled at each other, thinking of all the ways they could have fun with their new connection.

Hand in hand, they walked out of their circle to greet their guests.

* * *

Lexi and Rebekah were laughing, sitting together at one of the tables in the yard.

"Does he make this face all the time?" Lexi asked, making a goofy impression of a stoic face.

"Oh, god. Yes. Serious vampire face." Bekah laughed.

"Oh, and how about the dance moves? Does he still do the thing like this?" Lexi asked, making a goofy motion with her hips.

Rebekah clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter.

"What are you guys laughing about?" Caroline asked, sitting next to them.

"Stefan." they replied in unison.

"Oh no, more horror stories from the past?"

"Lexi was telling me all about the eighties, and I was filling her in on the best Stefan stories from the twenties." Rebekah smiled.

"I'm glad you two are getting along." Caroline smiled.

"We blondes have to stick together." Lexi said. "And by stick together, I mean gang up on Stefan and tease him relentlessly."

"I'm looking forward to the look on his face when three blondes all have higher grade point averages than him." Rebekah chimed in.

"Wait, what?" Caroline asked.

"Well, your friend Lexi and I have been around a long time, we know our history and literature. And you're vampire married to the British lit professor. We're going to crush Stefan. I can't wait to beat him at finals and do my 'I'm smarter than you' dance."

"So you're coming with us? Back to school?"

"Already compelled myself into all of your classes. I won't be staying in the dorms though. No hall showers or roommates for me. Got a nice place right off campus."

"A place I'm sure Stefan will be spending many nights." Lexi teased.

"Oh please. I'm still mad at him from the thing in Hong Kong last spring." Bekah sniffed.

"Really?" Lexi teased. "Would you still be mad if you knew he drunk dialed his faithful old friend at least once a week to whine about missing you?"

"I'm sure he was referring to Elena." Rebekah said cautiously.

"Nope. He was pretty specific." Lexi said. "But hey, you're going back to college. Why not have a little fun with the buffet of hot human guys and make Stefan work for it a little longer."

"You're evil." Rebekah smiled. "I like you." She turned to Caroline. "I like this friend of yours."

"Good. Because she's in all our classes, and you're going to need help with 20th century history and culture."

"Blame your husband for that."

"He's not my husband."

"Oh whatever you call it, bound hearts, vampire married. Whatever it is, you're stuck with my brother forever."

"Yeah." Caroline smiled. It felt more real hearing someone else say it. "I guess I am stuck with him forever. It's pretty great, right?"

"To the newest member of my dysfunctional family." Rebekah said, raising her glass."

"Here, here!" Lexi agreed.

They clinked glasses and drank.

Klaus approached from across the lawn, stopping right behind Caroline to kiss the top of her head.

"What am I interrupting?" he asked playfully.

"Plans for world domination." Rebekah joked. "We're starting with driving Stefan crazy and working our way out from there."

"Ahh, crazy Stefan. My favorite Stefan." he replied.

"Not a chance." Lexi protested. "I'm not letting him go off the rails like the last time you got your filthy little hybrid claws in him. We're just going to have some fun with him until your sister decides she feels like taking him back."

"So, two minutes? Three, perhaps?" he joked.

"Not funny, Nik." Rebekah glared. "I have some restraint."

"I'm going to have so much fun with you in my classes." he sighed.

"What's the matter, Nik? Threatened by having a student who spent more time with Dickens than you did? Not to mention the Bronte sisters. They liked me much better than you."

"Caroline, have you seen that dagger?" he deadpanned.

"You're not funny." Caroline replied.

"No, but you love me anyway."

"I do." she agreed.

"Care for a dance, sweetheart?"

She excused herself from the girls and followed him to the small dance floor on the lawn.

He pulled her close, cupping one hand at her lower back as they swayed to the music.

"Rebekah has never been happier." he said quietly, making sure the vampires across the yard couldn't hear.

"She's had a thousand years to live. I'm sure she's had better days."

"She's never had a friend like you. And now, she has your friends accepting her as well, and a whole group of people who want to experience life with her. She can go to college and play at being human all she wants."

"She's been a good friend to me, ever since we got together. All of your siblings have been."

"That's because you're impossibly charming."

"Or it could be because you threatened daggering or dismemberment to them if they were mean to me?"

"It could be both." he said.

They swayed to the music, occasionally turning to look at all of their friends and family, getting along for once. Kol and Bonnie were whispering and giggling in a corner, Lexi was chastising Stefan for something and playfully teasing him. Elijah and Rebekah were entertaining Liz Forbes with some story about their past while Damon and Elena shared a quiet moment at one of the tables.

Caroline pulled Klaus close for a kiss that bordered on inappropriate for around other people.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that." he said. He absently traced a finger down her neck and felt the shiver run through her.

"Me either. Can you imagine what it's going to be like when we..."

"I am really looking forward to getting you out of that dress later."

"We have another hour before the guests leave."

"Oh, so the dress has an hour and thirty seconds."

"Klaus!"

"Fine, I can get it off you in ten, but I can't promise I won't rip it at that speed."

She shook her head and laughed. "So not what I meant."

"I know." he replied, tilting his head down to look into her eyes.

She got lost in a faraway thought, looking out at the people around them and back at him. "It's amazing, isn't it? That we're here, like this. Together. I would have never imagined..."

"You're amazing."

"So what happens now?"

"Oh, you've read the stories, sweetheart." he said, "Now, we live happily ever after."


End file.
